Elephants Capable Of Empathy
According to new research the Asian elephant reassures distressed comrades by talking and touching them which suggests the elephant is capable of both empathy and reassurance.
Josh Plotnik who researches elephant behavior says that over half a century of observational data suggests elephants are highly social, can think about their relationships, display empathy and make social decisions. Mr. Plotnik of the University of Cambridge says the study in Thailand confirmed this for the first time.
The study took place in Thailand where the researches observed 26 elephants that were held in captivity through the course of a year.
The research suggests when one elephant was distressed other elephants would also show a similar state which researchers dubbed “emotional contagion” Dr. Plotnik said.
The elephants would move together and then touch each other and put their trunks in one another’s mouths and make a chirping sound.
“The touching that did happen in the post-distress seemed to happen very soon after the distress event, which tells us that all the touching and vocalizations were most likely related to the distress,” Dr. Plotnik said.
Elephant behaviour mirrors that of chimpanzees which also reassure one another by putting their hands in each other’s mouth Dr. Plotnik added.
Another expert, Mark Bekoff at the University of Colorado, Boulder who wasn’t involved with the study says the results were both interesting and important however because the sample included only captive elephants, the findings may not be representative of all elephants.
“Captive studies may undercut these animals, may underestimate what they are doing,” because studies of animals in captivity can fail to fully replicate the social groups and relationships that occur in the wild,” Mr. Bekoff said.
It is important that people learn about the intelligence of elephants and their social qualities for conservation purposes Dr. Plotnik said. He added there were some practical implications for local communities who need to deal with elephants regularly.
People in Asia feel a lot of frustration because of large scale destruction of elephant habitat which has brought these magnificent animals into conflict with people. For example some elephants often raid local crop. Therefore it is important that locals develop a better understanding of elephants.