New Study Examines How Elephants Say 'Hello'
2024-05-17
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1People greet each other in many ways.
2They might say "hello" in different languages.
3They might physically do something like shaking hands, giving hugs, or exchanging kisses.
4Elephants seem to have many greetings too.
5A recent study gives new information about these greetings, including how greetings differ depending on the animals' sex and whether they are looking at each other.
6The study was based on observations of African savannah elephants in the Jafuta Reserve in Zimbabwe.
7Vesta Eleuteri of the University of Vienna in Austria was the lead writer of the study that appeared recently in Communications Biology.
8"Elephants live in a so-called 'fission-fusion' society, where they often separate and reunite, meeting after hours, days or months apart," Eleuteri said.
9Elephants are Earth's largest land animals.
10They are highly intelligent, with strong memories and problem-solving skills, and complex communication.
11Female elephants of different family groups might have strong social bonds with each other, forming "bond groups."
12Earlier studies in the wild have reported that when these groups meet, the elephants perform special greeting ceremonies to announce and strengthen their social bonds, Eleuteri said.
13Male elephants have different social bonds from females.
14Male greetings may serve to ease possible hostility.
15Male elephants greet mainly by smelling each other, reaching with their trunks, Eleuteri added.
16The recent study gives details on around 20 movements tied to greetings.
17It showed that elephants mix these movements in exact ways with sounds.
18The different sounds are described as rumbles, roars and trumpets.
19The study also showed how smell plays an important part in greetings.
20Elephant greetings include behaviors unusual for humans, including releasing body waste.
21Elephants can also release secretions from a special gland.
22Elephants may greet each other by making gestures meant to be seen, like spreading their ears or showing their behinds.
23The creatures also use movements producing special sounds, or they may use movements that involve touching other elephants.
24Movements involving touching are known as tactile gestures.
25Eleuteri suggested that elephants appeared to know what other elephants can see.
26"They preferred using visual gestures when their partner was looking at them, while tactile ones when they were not," Eleuteri explained.
27Greeting behavior has been studied in a number of animals.
28"Many other species greet, including different primates, hyenas and dogs," Eleuteri said.
29These animal greetings help guide social situations by reducing tension or confirming social bonds, Eleuteri added.
30The new research builds on earlier studies of elephant greeting behavior.
31The nine observed elephants - four females and five males - were "semi-captive."
32That means they freely moved around their natural environment during daytime and stayed in structures at night.
33Greetings used by the female elephants closely matched the behavior of wild elephants.
34The greeting behavior of the male elephants appeared to be different from wild male elephants.
35Wild male elephants are often alone, forming loose connections with other elephants.
36The temporal gland is midway between the eye and the ear.
37That gland plays a part in elephant greeting by releasing a substance called temporin.
38Temporin contains chemical information about an elephant's condition.
39Elephants often use their trunks to touch the temporal glands of others.
40Eleuteri said elephant body wastes "contain chemical information important for elephants, like the identity of the individual, their reproductive state or even their emotional state."
41"Maybe they don't need to tell each other how they're doing, as they can smell it," Eleuteri added.
42I'm John Russell.
1People greet each other in many ways. They might say "hello" in different languages. They might physically do something like shaking hands, giving hugs, or exchanging kisses. 2Elephants seem to have many greetings too. A recent study gives new information about these greetings, including how greetings differ depending on the animals' sex and whether they are looking at each other. 3The study was based on observations of African savannah elephants in the Jafuta Reserve in Zimbabwe. 4Vesta Eleuteri of the University of Vienna in Austria was the lead writer of the study that appeared recently in Communications Biology. 5"Elephants live in a so-called 'fission-fusion' society, where they often separate and reunite, meeting after hours, days or months apart," Eleuteri said. 6Elephants are Earth's largest land animals. They are highly intelligent, with strong memories and problem-solving skills, and complex communication. 7Female elephants of different family groups might have strong social bonds with each other, forming "bond groups." Earlier studies in the wild have reported that when these groups meet, the elephants perform special greeting ceremonies to announce and strengthen their social bonds, Eleuteri said. 8Male elephants have different social bonds from females. Male greetings may serve to ease possible hostility. Male elephants greet mainly by smelling each other, reaching with their trunks, Eleuteri added. 9The recent study gives details on around 20 movements tied to greetings. It showed that elephants mix these movements in exact ways with sounds. The different sounds are described as rumbles, roars and trumpets. 10The study also showed how smell plays an important part in greetings. Elephant greetings include behaviors unusual for humans, including releasing body waste. Elephants can also release secretions from a special gland. 11Elephants may greet each other by making gestures meant to be seen, like spreading their ears or showing their behinds. The creatures also use movements producing special sounds, or they may use movements that involve touching other elephants. Movements involving touching are known as tactile gestures. 12Eleuteri suggested that elephants appeared to know what other elephants can see. "They preferred using visual gestures when their partner was looking at them, while tactile ones when they were not," Eleuteri explained. 13Greeting behavior has been studied in a number of animals. 14"Many other species greet, including different primates, hyenas and dogs," Eleuteri said. 15These animal greetings help guide social situations by reducing tension or confirming social bonds, Eleuteri added. 16The new research builds on earlier studies of elephant greeting behavior. The nine observed elephants - four females and five males - were "semi-captive." That means they freely moved around their natural environment during daytime and stayed in structures at night. 17Greetings used by the female elephants closely matched the behavior of wild elephants. The greeting behavior of the male elephants appeared to be different from wild male elephants. 18Wild male elephants are often alone, forming loose connections with other elephants. 19The temporal gland is midway between the eye and the ear. That gland plays a part in elephant greeting by releasing a substance called temporin. Temporin contains chemical information about an elephant's condition. Elephants often use their trunks to touch the temporal glands of others. 20Eleuteri said elephant body wastes "contain chemical information important for elephants, like the identity of the individual, their reproductive state or even their emotional state." 21"Maybe they don't need to tell each other how they're doing, as they can smell it," Eleuteri added. 22I'm John Russell. 23Will Dunham reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 24_________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26greet -v. to perform actions or say words on meeting someone 27fission - n. a breaking up into parts of a thing 28fusion - n. a union or merging of more than one thing 29secretion - n. a substance release by the body as the result of a process 30gland - n. a specialized organ that releases a substance used by the body 31gesture -n. a movement that can be repeated and means something to someone who sees it 32species - n. a class of plants or animals having common attributes