Not very ‘Dumbo’: Smart elephants learn, co-operate

Step aside, chimps and dolphins. There's a new smart kid in town: the elephant.

A recent series of tests in Thailand concluded elephants excel in learning, specifically in co-operating.

Researchers have long-considered the problem-solving mammals to be one of the smartest animals, but lead researcher Joshua M. Plotnik, of Cambridge University's department of experimental psychology, says the new findings show they are even more intelligent than previously thought.

"They help others in distress," he told the Associated Press. "They seem in some ways emotionally attached to each other, so you would expect there would be some level of cooperation."

He then admitted his surprise at how quickly they learned.

The tests:

Appetizing bananas were placed on a platform on the ground, connected to a rope. The elephants were held behind a fence, unable to reach the treat.

To get the food, the elephants had to pull the two ends of the rope at the same time to drag the platform under the fence.

Six pairs of elephants were tested 40 times over two days and every pair figured it out, succeeding on at least eight of the last 10 trials.

Then the tests got trickier:

This time, the researchers released the elephants into the test area one at a time. The elephants, understanding that both ropes needed pulling simultaneously, quickly learned to wait for their partners (The impressive success rate: between 88 and 97 per cent).

Later, scientists gave the elephants access to only one rope. The elephants didn't even bother to pull. They knew they were set up for failure.

Scientists admit it's hard to distinguish between learning and understanding, but these tests point to cooperative behaviour that was previously limited to primates.

Plotkin acknowledged to Wired that, "It's anecdotal evidence. These animals are empathetic, they're co-operative," he said. "But how empathetic? How co-operative? The best we can do is institute controls, do experiments like this, and figure out how what they do is unique from learning."

Plotkin's previous research with elephants proved the trunked beasts could recognize themselves in a mirror. Observation in nature has pointed to empathetic behaviour that includes mourning the dead. This new research, however, demonstrates co-operation, patience and problem-solving capabilities.

Check out Wired.com's video of the impressive experiment.

Maybe it's time Disney renamed "Dumbo."

(Photo credit: Reuters/Ina Fassbender)