Researchers discover elephants potentially communicate using names.
Not only humans use personal names. Recently, scientists in Africa have discovered something fascinating - elephants may use names within their herd! These clever creatures could be utilizing specialized calls that function as personal identifiers, suggests a study published in "Nature Ecology & Evolution." A single animal within a family group is often assigned the same designation. Furthermore, several names could circulate for a specific family member.
While numerous animal species issue calls for specific tasks like finding food or signaling a predator, these innate sounds are their primary method of communication. However, learned designations, like personal names, broaden the expressiveness of communication and can encourage cooperative behavior.
Prior to this discovery, personal names were believed to be exclusive to humans. Bottlenose dolphins and African grey parrots exhibit advanced communication skills, but they don't use names; rather, they imitate the sounds of the individual they are addressing. In the case of elephants, it appears that their approach is unique.
The intricacies of their social structure
Elephants, with lifespans up to several decades, forge long-lasting and varied social relationships with many individuals. Their vocalizations convey information about factors such as age, gender, and emotional state. Elephants often call to contact a distant animal, greet an incoming one, or engage in nurturing behaviors like suckling, soothing, or waking up a calf.
In their study, researchers examined the low-frequency rumbling and knocking produced by African elephant calves in the Amboseli National Park and the Samburu and Buffalo Springs Reserves in Kenya. They analyzed 469 calls, using a machine learning model to map these calls to the intended recipient. The results astonished them as the calls were more often attributed to the correct recipient than would be expected by chance.
Here I am!
The researchers observed the responses of 17 African elephants, and noticed that when called by their own names, they approached the caller quicker and responded more loudly than when hearing calls meant for other group members.
Additional investigations are needed to understand the scope of this name-like communication and its use, according to the scientists.
