African Elephants Call Each Other By Unique Names, New Study Finds
To test if elephants recognised these name-like calls, researchers played back recordings to individual elephants.
A new study has revealed that African elephants use unique, name-like calls to address each other, similar to how humans use names. This discovery, published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, adds to our understanding of the complex social lives of these animals.
Elephants And Their Unique Calls
Researchers have found that elephants use specific calls to identify and address individuals in their group. Unlike dolphins and parrots, who mimic the sounds of the individual they are calling, elephants appear to use unique sounds that are not imitations. This suggests a more advanced form of communication that might be closer to human use of names.
The study focused on three types of elephant rumbles: contact rumbles, used to call an elephant far away; greeting rumbles, used when elephants are close; and caregiver rumbles, used by females caring for calves. These calls were recorded and analysed using a machine-learning model.
How The Study Was Conducted
As per an AFP report, the researchers sifted through elephant "rumbles" recorded at Kenya's Samburu National Reserve and Amboseli National Park between 1986 and 2022. They used a machine-learning model to analyse the acoustic features of these calls to see if they could predict the intended recipient.
The model successfully identified the recipient of 27.5% of the calls, which is significantly higher than if the data had been random. This indicates that there is a specific acoustic structure in the calls that elephants use to identify each other.
Elephants Recognise Their Own 'Names'
To test if elephants recognised these name-like calls, researchers played back recordings to individual elephants. The elephants responded more strongly to calls that were originally addressed to them, suggesting they could distinguish when they were being called by name.
This ability to use and recognise individual names implies a high level of cognitive ability, including the capacity for abstract thought. Elephants need to learn and remember these unique sounds to effectively communicate with each other.
Implications For Understanding Language Evolution
The use of individual names by elephants highlights the complexity of their social interactions and cognitive abilities. This behaviour could provide insights into the evolution of language, suggesting that the need to name individuals might have played a role in the development of human language.
The research also opens new doors to understanding how communication and language might have evolved in both humans and animals.
