Researchers at Bannerghatta Biological Park have seen a new use of the tools among some of its 23 elephants.
Bengaluru:
An itch is a pesky problem. While humans and primates use their fingers, dogs and cats use limbs, and rhinos and buffaloes have their symbiotic “tick birds”, what do elephants have? It turns out it’s their brain.
Researchers at Bengaluru Bannerghatta Biological Park recently observed a pioneering use of tools among some of its 23 resident Asian elephants (Elephas Maximus) for so far unseen “problem solving”.
The elephants, all born in captivity or rescued from the temples, have been seen wrapping a stick in their trunk and using it to scratch hard-to-reach parts of the ear, mouth and stomach. These areas could not have been accessed with their trunks alone or by rubbing their bodies against trees, park officials said.
Officials said this shows that elephants have highly developed problem-solving abilities, in addition to great cognition, memory and complex social behaviors.
Recently, Sundar, a 20-year-old elephant rescued from a temple in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, was seen using a long stick to scratch specific areas of its ear and mouth. Park officials also reported that his elephant companion, Menaka, was also seen showing new skills with tools. She has been observed reaching delicate areas under her neck and stomach with a twig.
“The use of tools in elephants is not unique, but the level of complexity varies with each elephant. A study by Hart et al. In 2001 shows how elephants use and modify branches to repel flies in the Nagarhole National Park, indicating that the cerebral cortex in the brain-to-body ratio is greater than that of any species of primate, ”said park executive director Vanashree Vipin Singh.
Stating that elephants are as intelligent as great apes, such as chimpanzees and orangutans, park officials said the recently observed use of twigs was different.
According to the journal Scientific American, elephants don’t use their trunk very often to use tools because it affects their sense of smell, which is stronger than their sight.
