Elephantsuseinvocationswhencommunicatingwith their fellows,whichisakindofname-calling. An unusualstudy was conducted by an internationalgroup of scientistsobservingthebehavior of theseanimalsin the Samburu,BuffaloSpringsandAmboseliNationalParksinKenyabetween1986 and 2022.AccordingtoMichaelPardo, a behavioralecologist at theUniversity of Colorado, elephants,as it turned out,calleachother by individualnames,likehumans,and come up with nicknamesfortheirfellows. The studyalsoconfirmedthattheseanimals are notinclined to imitatevoicesandsounds,asparrotsandbottlenosedolphins do.In the course of the study, scientistsused an artificialintelligencealgorithmtoanalyze the calls of twoherds of wildelephants in the Africansavannah."Elephantsusespecificsoundsforeachindividual,theyrecognizeandrespondtopersonalcalls,whileignoringcallsaddressedtootherindividuals," the scientistexplained."Theycandetermineifanappeal is addressed to them just by hearingit,evenifit is taken outofcontext."Inhisopinion,elephantcommunicationmaybemorecomplexthanpreviously thought.Tocometosuchconclusions, the researchersstudied the "buzz" of elephantsusing a machinelearningalgorithmand were able to identify469differentcalls,including101appealsand117calls of response."Rumblingsoundscarryinformationintendedonlyfor a specificelephant,"headded.
The study, the results of whichwerepublishedin the journalNatureEcology&Evolution,showedthatadultanimalsusenames more oftenthanyoung ones,whichsuggeststhat it cantakeyearstolearnthistalent. The mostcommonappealwas"rich,harmonious, low-frequencysound," the researchersnote."When a recording was playedinwhich an elephantaddressedafriendorfamilymember, the animalreactedpositively,butthesameelephantshowedmuchlessenthusiasmwhenaddressingothers,and the elephants did notjustimitate the recipient's call,whichsuggeststhattheyandhumansare the onlyknownanimalsthatinventeachother."names,"andnotjustcopy the voice of anotheranimal,"thestudysays."The evidencepresentedthatelephantsuseunlimitedvocalizationstonameotherssuggeststhattheyhave the abilityto think abstractly,"saidGeorgWittmayer,seniorauthor of the study.According to FrankPope,CEOofSavetheElephants, despitethedifferences,humansandelephantshave a lot in common,inparticular,"extendedfamilyunitswith a richsociallifesupported by a highly developed brain."
The international wildlife festival "Golden Turtle" will be held from October 26 to December 15. This year's competition saw the participation of over 3,500 authors from 109 countries, who submitted nearly 14,500 works
The expert council under the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation has decided to grant the status of a national tourist route to the tour "Hidden North: from Arkhangelsk to Solovki"
The iconic location of Petra, the ancient capital of the Nabatean kingdom, featured prominently in Steven Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," serving as the backdrop for the search for the Holy Grail
The press service of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources reported the completion of the autumn aerial monitoring in the "Bear Islands" reserve in Yakutia
The State Hermitage Museum has presented its plans for the coming year to the Ministry of Culture. The museum is preparing large-scale exhibitions both in St. Petersburg and abroad
