elephant intelligence

  • Elephants are large-brained

    References

    Brain size

    With a large body comes a large, complex brain. Despite being the largest living terrestrial mammal, very little is known about the elephant brain. Indeed, until recently, only a few original articles had specifically focused on the elephant central nervous system (Cozzi et al. 2001). The brains of Asian and African elephants rank among the highest for absolute and relative mass, cortical expansion. Their brains exhibit features comparable to those of some of the Cetaceans and the Great Apes, including humans. Averaging about 5 kilograms, the adult African elephant brain is the largest among living and extinct terrestrial mammals. The brain of a newly born elephant is approximately 50% its adult weight, indicating a prolonged developmental period for the brain wherein the environment will significantly shape neuronal microstructure.

    One way of comparing the brains of different animals is to use the Encephalization Quotient (EQ). EQ is the ratio of the observed brain mass to the expected brain mass of a typical animal of that size (Jerison, 1973). Looking at brain size in this way, an EQ equal to 1.0 is an average mammalian brain. Theoretically, the larger the brain is relative to body size, the more the neural

  • ElephantVoices research

    Listening to the voices of elephants over decades has taught us that communication is the glue that binds the social network of an intelligent species, and its study offers a window into the hearts and minds of elephants. Our collection of observations, recordings and images come from Africa and Asia and form the basis of extensive databases, being used and visited by a world-wide audience.

    National Geographic illustrationA decades-long study of elephant social behaviour, communication and cognition in Amboseli, Kenya, have been dedicated to the understanding and protection of these remarkable creatures. Our work in the Maasai Mara, Kenya, and Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, is adding to this body of knowledge and will in due time also be reflected in our online behavioral databases.

    By studying what elephants are capable of understanding and what they communicate to one another, we have a better chance of finding solutions to the many problems that elephants face. In this endeavour we collaborate with biologists all over the world with our online collections forming a unique resource for other scientists and the public.

    By clicking on the illustration to the right you will be able to check out an article on National Geographic, giving some insight