This Elephant Learned To Use a Hose As a Shower. Then Her Rival Sought Revenge (science.org)
(Sunday November 10, 2024 @05:34PM (EditorDavid)
from the never-forgetting dept.)
- Reference: 0175444831
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/11/10/1830235/this-elephant-learned-to-use-a-hose-as-a-shower-then-her-rival-sought-revenge
- Source link: https://www.science.org/content/article/elephant-learned-use-hose-shower-then-her-rival-sought-revenge
Slashdot reader [1]sciencehabit shared [2]this report from Science magazine :
> Elephants love showering to cool off, and most do so by sucking water into their trunks and spitting it over their bodies. But an elderly pachyderm named Mary has perfected the technique by using a hose as a showerhead, much in the way humans do. The behavior is a remarkable example of sophisticated tool use in the animal kingdom. But the story doesn't end there.
>
> Mary's long, luxurious baths have drawn so much attention that an envious elephant at the Berlin Zoo has figured out how to shut the water off on her supersoaking rival—a type of sabotage rarely seen among animals.
>
> Both behaviors, reported today in Current Biology, further [3]cement elephants as complex thinkers , says Lucy Bates, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Portsmouth not involved in the study. The work, she says, 'suggests problem solving or even 'insight.''
[1] https://slashdot.org/~sciencehabit
[2] https://www.science.org/content/article/elephant-learned-use-hose-shower-then-her-rival-sought-revenge
[3] https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(24)01371-X
> Elephants love showering to cool off, and most do so by sucking water into their trunks and spitting it over their bodies. But an elderly pachyderm named Mary has perfected the technique by using a hose as a showerhead, much in the way humans do. The behavior is a remarkable example of sophisticated tool use in the animal kingdom. But the story doesn't end there.
>
> Mary's long, luxurious baths have drawn so much attention that an envious elephant at the Berlin Zoo has figured out how to shut the water off on her supersoaking rival—a type of sabotage rarely seen among animals.
>
> Both behaviors, reported today in Current Biology, further [3]cement elephants as complex thinkers , says Lucy Bates, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Portsmouth not involved in the study. The work, she says, 'suggests problem solving or even 'insight.''
[1] https://slashdot.org/~sciencehabit
[2] https://www.science.org/content/article/elephant-learned-use-hose-shower-then-her-rival-sought-revenge
[3] https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(24)01371-X
"Then..." (Score:3)
by haxor.dk ( 463614 )
...is a typical clickbait indicator.
As society "progresses" (Score:2)
by Impy the Impiuos Imp ( 442658 )
You ain't seen nothing, yet. Some elephants are planting simple crops, while others pick up a small tree trunk and lead others to go "take their fair share."
Re:Sometimes .. (Score:5, Informative)
by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 )
> the hyper masculine leader elephant hoard all the food
Elephant herds are matriarchal.
They are led by females.
Re:Sometimes .. (Score:5, Funny)
by ravenshrike ( 808508 )
Shhhhh. Let him cook. I want to see how twisted the rabbit hole that's in his head is.
Re: (Score:2)
by ClickOnThis ( 137803 )
> Elephant herds are matriarchal.
> They are led by females.
And it seems the males don't mind. If only...
Interesting ideas, but clickbaity (Score:2)
by jd ( 1658 )
But number 7 will shock you.
"Revenge" is clickbait (Score:5, Informative)
Using "revenge" in title is pretty clickbaity and an insult to the supposedly evil elephant. I watched the video where you simply see 2 elephants playing with a hose. The water isn't ever cut off in the video.
Even TFA admits it:
> Bates says it’s not clear whether Anchali was vengeful toward Mary or was just teasing her in the way that some apes do while playing. But she says the findings show the importance of monitoring the behavior of captive animals over time. “I am convinced that elephants—and possibly lots of animals—do all sorts of interesting things that we often miss, or dismiss as one-offs or anecdotes.”
Re: "Revenge" is clickbait (Score:3)
We like to anthromorphize animals to be huge jerks like humans are. I guess to justify and normalize our rotten behavior.
Re: (Score:2)
No, don't. Don't even think it.
I want Donald Trump to live a long and healthy life. With a good part of it inside a jail cell. I wish no worse on him than that.
Re: (Score:3)
> We like to anthromorphize animals to be huge jerks like humans are.
Some animals definitely are jerks. Wasps, Canada geese, polar bears, hippos, just off the top of my head. Also even [1]man's best friend [google.com] can be quite an asshole when they don't know you.
[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=dog+attack
Re: "Revenge" is clickbait (Score:5, Informative)
Elephants are just as capable of being big jerks as humans, and some of their behaviors do resemble ours. They have excellent long-term memory and a capacity for learning from others. They grieve for lost family members, and females will die to protect their offspring. They also adopt orphans. They can be mischievous, resentful, and are known to take revenge.
One interesting area of study is the behavior of pubescent males:
[1]https://www.bbcearth.com/news/... [bbcearth.com]
[1] https://www.bbcearth.com/news/teenage-elephants-need-a-father-figure
Chimpanzees as tool users (Score:3)
Not only do chimpanzees make and use tools, but one chimp was documented to have blamed his tools on what other chimps perceived to be a badly constructed termite extraction stick.
Re: (Score:2)
> The water isn't ever cut off in the video.
It looks like Elephant #2 is trying to kink the hose to stop the water flow.