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By Nancy Barber Feb 18th 2014
A new study published in the journal PeerJ finds that Asian elephants offer physical comfort when they sense another elephant feeling anxiety. They express sympathy by trumpeting caring noises and touching each other with their trunks.
Animal behaviorists studied 26 captive elephants in a sanctuary in Thailand.
They concluded that many elements of the elephants' behavior comfort distressed
herd members. This behavior includes high-pitched chirping sounds and putting
their trunks in others' mouths.
"Elephants get distressed when they see others in distress, reaching out to calm
them down, not unlike the way chimpanzees or humans embrace someone who is
upset," said co-author Frans de Waal, a professor of primate behavior at Emory
University in Atlanta, Ga.
Consoling behaviors are rare in nature. Some birds, dogs, apes and humans are
the only other known species to offer comfort and support to one another.
"... Other touches, specifically in this context, serve to reassure the other
elephant," study co-author Joshua Plotnik, a lecturer in conservation biology at
Mahidol University in Thailand and chief executive of Think
Elephants International.
"We also see the elephants put their trunks into each others' mouths, which
seems to be a way of saying, 'I'm here to help you.'"
In the study, behaviorists scared the elephants under observation. They used
snakes, dogs or other unfriendly elephants roaming past. They then studied how
the elephants responded to each other.
"When an elephant gets spooked, its ears go out, its tail stands erect or curls
out, and it may emit a low-frequency rumble, trumpet or roar," Plotnik said.
"The consistency with which elephants responded to a friend in distress was
quite remarkable. Rarely did an elephant give a distress call without a response
from a friend or group member nearby."
Scientists observed elephants displaying comforting behavior in the wild before,
but this is the first concrete evidence.
ANIMAL PARTS SOLD TO DEALERS
Rhinos
are not the only species in Africa currently under immense threat-
We are losing also over 30,000
Elephants a year.
IF YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS TO THESE ANIMALS WHEN THEY GROW UP
BEWARE
THE NEXT PAGE IS NOT PRETTY
