Google – AFP, Kerry Sheridan (AFP), 10 March 2014
 |
An African
elephant is pictured on November 17, 2012 in Hwange
National Park in Zimbabwe
(AFP/File, Martin Bureau)
|
Washington
— African elephants can differentiate between human languages and move away
from those considered a threat, a skill they have honed to survive in the wild,
researchers said Monday
The study
suggests elephants, already known to be intelligent creatures, are even more
sophisticated than previously believed when it comes to understanding human
dangers.
African
elephants (Loxodonta africana) are the largest land animals on Earth and are
considered a vulnerable species due to habitat loss and illegal hunting for
their ivory tusks.
Researchers
played recordings of human voices for elephants at Amboseli National Park in
Kenya to see how they would respond, according to a report in the Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences.
Some of the
voices were from local Maasai men, a group that herds cattle and sometimes
comes into conflict with elephants over access to water and grazing space.
Occasionally, elephants are killed in clashes with Maasai men, and vice-versa.
Other
recorded voices were from Kamba men, who tend to be farmers or employees of the
national park, and who rarely represent a danger to elephants.
Still other
voices tested on the elephants included female Maasai speakers and young boys.
All were
saying the same phrase: "Look, look over there, a group of elephants is
coming."
The
recorded voices were played for hundreds of elephants across 47 family groups
during daylight hours.
When
elephants heard the adult male Maasai voices, they tended to gather together,
start investigative smelling with their trunks, and move cautiously away.
But when
elephants heard females, boys, or adult male Kamba speakers, they did not show
concern.
-
Discriminating between languages -
"The
ability to distinguish between Maasai and Kamba men delivering the same phrase
in their own language suggests that elephants can discriminate between
different languages," said co-author Graeme Shannon, a visiting fellow in
psychology at the University of Sussex.
That is not
the same as understanding what the words mean, but still shows that elephants
can decipher the more sing-songy Maasai language from the Kamba tongue, perhaps
based on inflections, use of vowels, and other cues.
"It is
very sophisticated what the elephants are doing," said Keith Lindsay, a
conservation biologist and member of the scientific advisory committee of the
Amboseli Elephant Research Project.
"A lot
of animals will take flight at just the general threat posed by people, but a
smart animal doesn't do that," he told AFP.
"Their
response to hearing Maasai men talking was to be alert, to move away, but not
to run away in total fear," added Lindsay, who was not involved in the
study.
"It is
suggesting that elephants are capable of thinking, (of) recognizing that if
Maasai men are talking, they are not likely to be hunting because if they were
hunting, they would be quiet."
- Wiser
with age -
Elephant
groups with older matriarchs in their midst did best at assessing the threat
from different speakers, further bolstering the presumed role of learning in
the animals' behavior.
The
elephants also did not act the same way as they did when recordings of lions
were played, as was shown in a previous study.
In those
scenarios, they bunched together so that juveniles -- those most at risk from a
lion attack -- were in the center, and moved toward the sounds as if to scare
the lion away.
When it
comes to recognizing people, elephants may not be alone in this ability. Other research
has suggested that wild bottlenose dolphins in Brazil have become so familiar
with humans that they engage in cooperative hunting with artisanal fisherman.
Great apes,
crows and even prairie dogs have also been shown to differentiate between
humans on some level.
A separate
study published last month in the journal PLoS ONE showed elephants even have
specific alarm calls for when humans are near, suggesting the relationship
between people and elephants has reached a troubling point and that
conservation efforts are more important than ever.
"We
have become a formal enemy of the elephants," said Lori Marino, an expert
on animal intelligence at Emory University.
"They
can not only make some distinctions between us, but we are now on their list of
species to watch out for."
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Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.
Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.
(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."
(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.
(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.
Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.
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