Elephants call each other by name, study finds
Elephants call each other by name, study finds
Researchers used artificial intelligence algorithm to analyse calls by two herds of African savanna elephants in Kenya
Elephants call out to each other using individual names that they invent for their fellow pachyderms, according to a new study.
While dolphins and parrots have been observed addressing each other by mimicking the sound of others from their species, elephants are the first non-human animals known to use names that do not involve imitation, the researchers suggested.
For the new study published on Monday, a team of international researchers used an artificial intelligence algorithm to analyse the calls of two wild herds of African savanna elephants in Kenya.
The research “not only shows that elephants use specific vocalisations for each individual, but that they recognise and react to a call addressed to them while ignoring those addressed to others”, the lead study author, Michael Pardo, said.
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The researchers called for more research into the evolutionary origin of this talent for name-calling, given that the ancestors of elephants diverged from primates and cetaceans about 90m years ago.
Despite our differences, humans and elephants share many similarities such as “extended family units with rich social lives, underpinned by highly developed brains”, the CEO of Save the Elephants, Frank Pope, said.
“That elephants use names for one another is likely only the start of the revelations to come.”
This is the best summary I could come up with:
While dolphins and parrots have been observed addressing each other by mimicking the sound of others from their species, elephants are the first non-human animals known to use names that do not involve imitation, the researchers suggested.
For the new study published on Monday, a team of international researchers used an artificial intelligence algorithm to analyse the calls of two wild herds of African savanna elephants in Kenya.
Elephant make a wide range of sounds, from loud trumpeting to rumbles so low they cannot be heard by the human ear.
The most common call was “a harmonically rich, low-frequency sound”, according to the study in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.
This suggests that elephants and humans are the only two animals known to invent “arbitrary” names for each other, rather than merely copying the sound of the recipient.
“The evidence provided here that elephants use non-imitative sounds to label others indicates they have the ability for abstract thought,” the senior study author George Wittemyer said.
The original article contains 489 words, the summary contains 166 words. Saved 66%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
The next step is interpreting those names. I do wonder if they are largely insulting nicknames like Pisses While Sleeping, Low Scrotum, etc or if they are all really positive: As Radiant as the Sun, Brings Peace, Awesome Trunk, etc.