Study: African elephants give each other “names”

It turns out that my sons aren’t the only ones who come up with first names: a new study published recently found that African elephants give members of their herd “names”, which are expressed in distinct sequences of sounds, rich in low-frequency harmony.African elephants move around in small herds consisting of ten elephants and their offspring, with the males joining only during the courtship season. The researchers focused on one herd and examined the responses when they were played a recording of another elephant calling their name. They were amazed to discover that when Phila heard the sequence of sounds that distinguishes her – she raised her head and looked for the source of the sound. In some cases she even responded to the call.

The researchers qualified that these are preliminary findings, and more in-depth research is needed to reach significant findings, but they believe that “the findings have far-reaching implications for what we know about the cognition of elephants, their ability to use sounds to distinguish between individuals and call each other, indicates A certain capacity for abstract thinking”.

Elephants are the largest land mammal, and have the largest brain weighing about five kilograms. They are also considered one of the smartest mammals, along with humans, dolphins and primates. They are known as an animal that exhibits highly developed and complex behaviors: for example, mourning rituals that include returning to the place where the elephant died long after its death, using tools, and showing altruism and compassion.