spectratg
Senior Member
- Location
- Adamstown, MD
A new study shows that African elephants use unique names for each other too. Researchers followed a Kenyan herd, recording their calls, only about half of which are audible (the other half are infrasonic - at a frequency too low for our ears). The low frequency “rumbles” proved to contain personalized information; an elephant calling to another individual made sounds that were distinct for that individual.
Particularly unusual was the finding that the distinct elephant “names” were not imitations of sounds made by the named individual. Says study author Mickey Pardo, “This finding suggested that like humans, but unlike other animals, elephants may address one another without just imitating the addressee’s calls.”
Particularly unusual was the finding that the distinct elephant “names” were not imitations of sounds made by the named individual. Says study author Mickey Pardo, “This finding suggested that like humans, but unlike other animals, elephants may address one another without just imitating the addressee’s calls.”
