African elephants show high levels of interest in the skulls and ivory of their own species - PubMed (original) (raw)
African elephants show high levels of interest in the skulls and ivory of their own species
Karen McComb et al. Biol Lett. 2006.
Abstract
An important area of biology involves investigating the origins in animals of traits that are thought of as uniquely human. One way that humans appear unique is in the importance they attach to the dead bodies of other humans, particularly those of their close kin, and the rituals that they have developed for burying them. In contrast, most animals appear to show only limited interest in the carcasses or associated remains of dead individuals of their own species. African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are unusual in that they not only give dramatic reactions to the dead bodies of other elephants, but are also reported to systematically investigate elephant bones and tusks that they encounter, and it has sometimes been suggested that they visit the bones of relatives. Here, we use systematic presentations of object arrays to demonstrate that African elephants show higher levels of interest in elephant skulls and ivory than in natural objects or the skulls of other large terrestrial mammals. However, they do not appear to specifically select the skulls of their own relatives for investigation so that visits to dead relatives probably result from a more general attraction to elephant remains.
Figures
Figure 1
(a) Choice test on array of wood, elephant skull and ivory (left to right) in experiment 1. In this photo, one family member initiates approach to the object array (to be followed by others from right of frame). (b) Distribution of high interest activity in experiment 1, bars show standard errors. (c) Distribution of high interest activity in experiment 2, bars show standard errors. (d) Distribution of high interest activity in experiment 3, bars show pooled standard errors from the three families, where s.e.pooled=(s.e.fam.12+s.e.fam.22+s.e.fam.32)/3.
Similar articles
- Evidence of a Growing Elephant Poaching Problem in Botswana.
Schlossberg S, Chase MJ, Sutcliffe R. Schlossberg S, et al. Curr Biol. 2019 Jul 8;29(13):2222-2228.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.05.061. Epub 2019 Jun 13. Curr Biol. 2019. PMID: 31204160 - Elephant behavior toward the dead: A review and insights from field observations.
Goldenberg SZ, Wittemyer G. Goldenberg SZ, et al. Primates. 2020 Jan;61(1):119-128. doi: 10.1007/s10329-019-00766-5. Epub 2019 Nov 11. Primates. 2020. PMID: 31713106 - Elephant natural history: a genomic perspective.
Roca AL, Ishida Y, Brandt AL, Benjamin NR, Zhao K, Georgiadis NJ. Roca AL, et al. Annu Rev Anim Biosci. 2015;3:139-67. doi: 10.1146/annurev-animal-022114-110838. Epub 2014 Dec 8. Annu Rev Anim Biosci. 2015. PMID: 25493538 Review. - Chemical signals in the reproduction of Asian (Elephas maximus) and African (Loxodonta africana) elephants.
Rasmussen LE, Schulte BA. Rasmussen LE, et al. Anim Reprod Sci. 1998 Oct;53(1-4):19-34. doi: 10.1016/s0378-4320(98)00124-9. Anim Reprod Sci. 1998. PMID: 9835364 Review.
Cited by
- Changes in laboratory mice after observation of deceased conspecifics: a pilot suicidality study in animals.
Jeon D, Kim S, Lee SK, Chu K. Jeon D, et al. Encephalitis. 2021 Oct;1(4):103-110. doi: 10.47936/encephalitis.2021.00080. Epub 2021 Jul 20. Encephalitis. 2021. PMID: 37470050 Free PMC article. - Viewing the rare through public lenses: insights into dead calf carrying and other thanatological responses in Asian elephants using YouTube videos.
Pokharel SS, Sharma N, Sukumar R. Pokharel SS, et al. R Soc Open Sci. 2022 May 18;9(5):211740. doi: 10.1098/rsos.211740. eCollection 2022 May. R Soc Open Sci. 2022. PMID: 35620003 Free PMC article. - Staring death in the face: chimpanzees' attention towards conspecific skulls and the implications of a face module guiding their behaviour.
Gonçalves A, Hattori Y, Adachi I. Gonçalves A, et al. R Soc Open Sci. 2022 Mar 23;9(3):210349. doi: 10.1098/rsos.210349. eCollection 2022 Mar. R Soc Open Sci. 2022. PMID: 35345434 Free PMC article. - How to Tell If Animals Can Understand Death.
Monsó S. Monsó S. Erkenntnis. 2022;87(1):117-136. doi: 10.1007/s10670-019-00187-2. Epub 2019 Dec 13. Erkenntnis. 2022. PMID: 35125561 Free PMC article. - Why chimpanzees carry dead infants: an empirical assessment of existing hypotheses.
Lonsdorf EV, Wilson ML, Boehm E, Delaney-Soesman J, Grebey T, Murray C, Wellens K, Pusey AE. Lonsdorf EV, et al. R Soc Open Sci. 2020 Jul 1;7(7):200931. doi: 10.1098/rsos.200931. eCollection 2020 Jul. R Soc Open Sci. 2020. PMID: 32874665 Free PMC article.
References
- Boesch C, Boesch-Achermann H. 1st edn. Oxford University Press; Oxford: 2000. The chimpanzees of the Tai forest: behavioural ecology and evolution.
- Douglas-Hamilton I, Douglas-Hamilton O. Collins & Harvill; London: 1975. Among the elephants.
- McComb K, Moss C, Durant S, Baker L, Sayialel S. Matriarchs act as repositories of social knowledge in African elephants. Science. 2001;292:491–494. - PubMed
- Moss C. 1st edn. Fontana/Collins; Glasgow: 1988. Elephant memories: thirteen years in the life of an elephant family.
- Moss C.J, Poole J.H. Relationships and social structure of African elephants. In: Hinde R.A, editor. Primate social relationships: an integrated approach. Blackwell Scientific; Oxford: 1983. pp. 315–325.
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources