The ability to use tools is not exclusive to humans. Chimpanzees utilize sticks as instruments. Tool use is also observed in dolphins, crows, and elephants.
A study published in the journal Current Biology by Cell Press, showcases the impressive capability of elephants to wield a hose like a flexible showerhead. As an interesting aside, the researchers also uncovered that one elephant appears to know how to turn off the water, potentially as a form of “prank.”
“Elephants are amazing with hoses,” says Michael Brecht of the Humboldt University of Berlin, one of the senior authors. “As is often the case with elephants, hose tool use behaviors come out very differently from animal to animal; elephant Mary is the queen of showering.”
The researchers made a groundbreaking discovery when Lena Kaufmann, a senior author from Humboldt University of Berlin, observed an Asian elephant named Mary showering at the Berlin Zoo and filmed her remarkable behavior. Excited by what she witnessed, she shared the footage with her colleagues, who were instantly captivated. This led the first study author, Lea Urban, to undertake a detailed analysis of Mary’s skilled use of the hose.
“I had not thought about hoses as tools much before, but what came out from Lea’s work is that elephants have an exquisite understanding of these tools,” Brecht says.
The team discovered that Mary showered with impressive precision, skillfully controlling the hose with her limbs. Typically, she would grasp the hose near its tip, effectively transforming it into a precise showerhead.
To wash her back, she utilized a lasso technique, swinging the hose over her body from further up. When confronted with a larger, heavier hose, Mary wisely chose to use her trunk instead, showcasing her remarkable ability to select the most suitable tool for the job.
The researchers claim that their discoveries provide a new illustration of goal-oriented tool usage. However, what astonished them the most was Anchali’s response during Mary’s shower. According to the researchers, the two elephants exhibited aggressive behavior around shower time. At one moment, Anchali began tugging the hose towards herself, away from Mary, twisting and bending it to interrupt the flow of water.
Although they cannot definitively determine Anchali’s motives, it appeared as if the elephant was demonstrating a form of second order tool use, impairing a tool that another elephant was using, potentially as a sabotage act.
“The surprise was certainly Anchali’s kink-and-clamp behavior,” Brecht says. “Nobody had thought that she’d be smart enough to pull off such a trick.”
Moreover, the researchers engaged in extensive discussions in the lab regarding the implications of Anchali’s actions. They soon observed her employing another creative method to disrupt Mary’s shower. This time, Anchali performed what the researchers term a trunk stand, effectively halting the water flow by placing her trunk on the hose and then lowering her considerable weight onto it.
Brecht notes that the elephants are trained sufficiently well to avoid stepping on hoses to prevent being reprimanded by their keepers. Consequently, he states that they rarely do so. The researchers believe this may be why Anchali has developed more complex strategies to obstruct the flow of water during Mary’s showers.
“When Anchali came up with a second behavior that disrupted water flow to Mary, I became pretty convinced that she is trying to sabotage Mary,” Brecht said.
These observations serve as a powerful testament to the elephants’ remarkable manipulative abilities and adeptness with tools, made possible by the unique dexterity of their trunks. The researchers are now eager to explore what these behaviors in zoo settings could reveal about elephants in their natural habitats.
“Do elephants play tricks on each other in the wild?” Brecht asked. “When I saw Anchali’s kink and clamp for the first time, I broke out in laughter. So, I wonder, does Anchali also think this is funny, or is she just being mean?”
Journal reference:
- Lea Urban, Rolf Becker, Andreas Ochs, Florian Sicks, Michael Brecht, Lena Valentina Kaufmann. Water-hose tool use and showering behavior by Asian elephants. Current Biology, 2024; DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.10.017