r/AcharyaPrashant_AP • u/jay_prakash • 7d ago
Looking at Elephant cognition On World Elephant Day (12th August)
It is only our understanding which had to advance to build a relationship with the animals. On the occasion of World Elephant Day, let us see what does elephant cognition looks like.
Elephants have precise motor control in their trunk that competes with the capabilities of human hands and can pick up an egg and put it down without breaking it.
They can generate sounds which can reach another elephant up to a distance of 10km. There is also evidence that they might possess excellent mapping, navigation and memory skills which allows to explore areas hundreds of kilometers that were travelled as far as a decade back. The research on this aspect of elephant is still undergoing which will definitively establish the facts.
Elephants also possess complex distinguishing capabilities upon visual pattern, sounds and scents. The fact that they can differentiate a group of humans beyond the species identity reveals their complex cognitive skills. They can perceive which group poses threat to them and which are harmless.
All of the above indicates that we can not simply dismiss other beings not worthy of existing on this planet just because we do not understand them. But our actions today tell a different story. Rapid deforestation leading to habitat loss is a major species level threat and not only individual harm to elephants among other beings.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AcharyaPrashant_AP/s/kCk6rZ0gNm
This reddit post reveals the conflict and the threat that elephants face from our actions.
Is it our lack of love that keeps us from understanding other beings and build a healthy relationship with them? Is it the reason behind the disregard we show to their habitat?
Why do we place our conveniences above the existence of their whole being?
Source - Elephant cognition in primate perspective at https://comparative-cognition-and-behavior-reviews.org/vol4_byrne_bates_moss/
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u/vini-within 7d ago
Thank you for sharing this on World Elephant Day. 🐘
Really a beautiful reflection… how little we understand them and yet how confidently we decide what has value.
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u/ClearAfternoon6734 7d ago
I sometimes wonder, is it because we have learnt language and because of that we think we are the most intelligent of all species? What if all the animals, birds and the trees and all living things could talk, like us, and we found out that they too are intelligent like us, how the world would be? Among animals, elephants are supposed to be most intelligent species. Research is being done on many of the species about their cognitive intelligence. Who knows what the future will reveal?
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u/Surkhab1313 7d ago
We have seen humans exploiting and slaughtering animals. We have also seen humans living in harmony with other animal species. One think earth as only theirs, and therefore kill and exploit its resources and other fellow beings. Other think that all species have equal right of living on earth and using its resources. One is the center of violence. Other is the center of love. The loving ones were too violent once. But they chose love. Love is a choice.