Elephants Lend a Helping Trunk, Pass Cooperation Test

[n2doc]

By Brandon Keim March 7, 2011 |

sian elephants have passed a test of cooperation with flying colors, one that cognitive psychologists say demonstrates an ape-level awareness and sense of teamwork. Their collaboration isn’t just the product of rote learning, but the result of careful thought.

In the wild, of course, elephants routinely work together. But that doesn’t pass laboratory muster, said University of Cambridge psychologist Joshua Plotkin.

“It’s anecdotal evidence. These animals are empathetic, they’re cooperative,” he said. “But how empathetic? How cooperative? The best we can do is institute controls, do experiments like this, and figure out how what they do is unique from learning.”

Plotnik’s experiment, published March 8 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was conducted when he was a student of famed Emory University ethologist Frans de Waal. In 2006, they showed that elephants could recognize themselves in a mirror, a benchmark feat believed to indicate an especially sophisticated level of self-awareness, on par with that of young humans.

more with video

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/03/elephant-cooperation/

[LaurenG]

1. I saw a report on the BBC world news last night about this

One of the elephants figured out that all he had to do was stand on the rope that pulled the food forward while the team member pulled the rope. Elephants are one of the most awesome and intelligent animals around.