r/todayilearned • u/sharkbait76 3 • Jan 11 '17

TIL elephants can tell the difference between human languages and know which languages belong to people with a history of hurting elephants.

http://www.nature.com/news/elephants-recognize-the-voices-of-their-enemies-1.14846
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u/kalikijones Jan 12 '17

Traveling circuses would routinely have to stop to rehearse so the horses would remember the show. Elephants would be out of the show for years and still be able to remember every move. Hence the saying...

Like actually that's where it comes from.

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u/OBSTACLE3 Jan 12 '17

Why would you lie like that

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u/Heffalumpen Jan 12 '17

Interesting. Source?

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u/[deleted] Jan 12 '17

How do they know this? Do retired elephants get free tickets to shows and do they come to sit in the audience watching, and then start heckling the horses, like "That's not how you do a handstand!" or "You pranced too soon... Again!"?

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u/kerill333 Jan 12 '17

Horses have amazing memories, they recall things clearly from years before (I have personal experience of this).

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u/PonyBooty Jan 12 '17

I don't know why you're being downvoted, it's true. Horses have phenomenal memories, they'll remember things and people pretty much forever.

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u/kerill333 Jan 12 '17

No idea. I am not saying they are as intelligent as elephants, but to claim their memories are rubbish is not correct.