African elephants call each other by unique names, study shows
Researchers tested results by playing recordings to individual elephants, who responded more energetically to recordings that contained their names.
African elephants call each other and respond to individual names – something that few wild animals do, according to new research.
The names are one part of elephants’ low rumbles that they can hear over long distances, researchers said.
Scientists believe that animals with complex social structures and family groups that separate and then reunite often may be more likely to use individual names.
“If you’re looking after a large family, you’ve got to be able to say, ‘Hey, Virginia, get over here!’”, said Duke University ecologist Stuart Pimm, who was not involved in the study.
Each of these naming species also possesses the ability to learn to pronounce unique new sounds throughout their lives – a rare talent that elephants also possess.
For the study in Nature Ecology & Evolution, biologists used machine learning to detect the use of names in a sound library of elephant vocalisations recorded at Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve and Amboseli National Park.
The researchers followed the elephants in jeeps to observe who called out and who appeared to respond – for example, if a mother called to a calf, or a matriarch called to a straggler who later rejoined the family group.
Analysing only the audio data, the computer model predicted which elephant was being addressed 28% of the time, likely due to the inclusion of its name. When fed meaningless data, the model only accurately labelled 8% of calls.
Elephant rumbles include sounds that are below the range of human hearing. The scientists still do not know which part of the vocalisation is the name.
Researchers tested their results by playing recordings to individual elephants, who responded more energetically, ears flapping and trunk lifted, to recordings that contained their names. Sometimes elephants entirely ignored vocalisations addressed to others.
“Elephants are incredibly social, always talking and touching each other – this naming is probably one of the things that underpins their ability to communicate to individuals,” said co-author and Colorado State University ecologist George Wittemyer, who is also a scientific adviser for nonprofit Save the Elephants.
“We just cracked open the door a bit to the elephant mind.”
