A study in Kenya has found that elephants can recognize human voices from different genders and ages.
The study was conducted by researchers who played recordings of people for elephants, according to CTV News. Scientists have said that no other animal has shown this thinking skill, and that it helps elephants determine who is a threat and who is not.
Researchers found that elephants tend to show more fear and aggression towards Maasai men, who heard livestock and often come into conflict with the animal, BBC News reported. Karen McComb, professor at the University of Sussex, led the study with Dr. Graeme Shannon, and said elephants respond with fear when they come across the scent and red color of Maasai clothing.
"I've experienced that," McComb said. "If you give a Maasai man a lift in your car, you can see the elephants behave in a different way around you. They're much more wary of the car and you see a lot of smelling and listening."
The scientists went to Amboseli National Park in Kenya, where they recorded the voices of Maasai men, women and children saying, "Look, look over there, a group of elephants is coming," in their own language. They also recorded voices of Kamba men, who pose less of a threat to the elephants, CTV News reported.
Dr. Shannon of Colorado State University said the elephants retreated and gathered together when they heard the Maasai voice because it was associated with the more threatening tribe, CTV News reported. The animals reacted less to Maasai women and young boys because they don't try to kill elephants.
"They are making such a fine-level discrimination using human languages skills," Shannon said. "They're able to acquire quite detailed knowledge. The only way of doing this is with an exceptionally large brain."
Fran van der Waal, researcher from the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University, said it is important for researchers to understand how elephants communicate and adapt to their environment, BBC News.
"The more we understand about how elephants navigate their physical and social worlds, and how their behavior continues to adapt to ever-changing threats, the better able we will be to effectively work to protect them in the wild," Van der Waal said.
