USA: Study shows elephants are among the few species of animals who have similar behaviour to humans

Elephants can recognize themselves in a mirror - an important test of awareness that puts them in an exclusive club with humans, chimpanzees and dolphins - scientists reported. One elephant in a study at the Bronx Zoo in New York went so far as to use the mirror to touch and explore a white "X" that had been painted on her head, the researchers reportED in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Diana Reiss of the Wildlife Conservation Society, an expert in animal behaviour and intelligence, was involved with the study. Reiss explained that the elephants reactions are remarkable, because this is not common in most species. "Most animals when exposed to a mirror act like its either nothing in particular, nothing different, they pay no attention to it -- or they act like they're viewing another of their own kind, their own species and they show social behaviour. A very rare group go on like the great apes, dolphins and now elephants to actually figure out that its themselves they're looking at and they actually use the mirror as a tool to view themselves," she said. Reiss said the three elephants in the study, Maxine, Patty and Happy, went over to the mirror right away and started sniffing around it and exploring. Previously it was thought that elephants would be a bit stand-offish at first. The researchers set up a cumbersome experiment at the Bronx Zoo, spending weeks to install a pachyderm-proof covered mirror in the pen of the three female Asian elephants. Reiss said the elephants made no audible sounds, which was surprising as the elephants are vocal animals. Before the elephant study, humans, chimpanzees and dolphins were believed to be the only animals capable of recognizing themselves in a mirror. Anyone who has seen a kitten jump at its reflection or a caged bird peck at a mirror knows there is a difference between looking at a mirror and recognizing one's self in it. One elephant in the Bronx Zoo study moved her head in and out of the mirror's reflection. Then the researchers saw self-directed behaviour, which is what humans do in front of the mirror. Maxine grabbed her left ear and pulled it slowly forward. But the big test came when they painted a white mark on each of the elephants' heads. To ensure that the elephants were seeing the mark, and not just checking to see what had been done to them, a "sham" mark using a similar but invisible compound was painted on the other side. Happy never touched the sham mark and she touched the other mark repeatedly in front of the mirror. The other two didn't have any reaction, but the Reiss says this wasn't surprising. In fact, she says, not all beings in a species will react to this kind of test. But this doesn't mean that elephants are smarter than other animals, Reiss said. "We have to be really careful when we start saying whose smarter, elephants in that case. I think elephants are very intelligent and I think that we're just starting to plum the depths of their intelligence. Strangely, there have not been many cognitive studies, studies asking questions about elephant intelligence. So while we believe they're intelligent and they act intelligently and in very complex ways, this says they're intelligent this way," she said. The researchers hope other animal experts will try to replicate their findings with other species.

ITN Source | November 11, 2006

Tags:. .forward. .tool. .female. .anyone. .attention