African elephants have individual name-like calls for each other, similar to human names, study finds

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/african-elephants-names-study/

200 points · 14 comments · view on lemmy.world

14 Comments

toast@retrolemmy.com · 35 pts · 2y (2 replies)

Videos shared by researchers show how the elephants respond to call recordings addressed to them. In one, an elephant named Margaret appears to almost immediately perk up to a rumble recording addressed to her.

It's amazing to me that elephants use, among I would assume others, the name Margaret.

bizzle@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 2y

Well it translates to Margaret

loaExMachina@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 2y
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Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net · 19 pts · 2y (3 replies)

Oh hey, remember how terrible we are to animals?

Imagine some jackass coming up and blasting your bestie with a .45-70. RIP, Bob.

Glowstick@lemmy.world · 23 pts · 2y (2 replies)

We don't have to imagine it, humans are often just as awful to other humans

Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net · 15 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Right, I forgot about the children huddling in a hospital in Gaza as bombs drop around them...

Humans were a mistake.

PRUSSIA_x86@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 2y

I appreciate the social awareness, but can we just have a nice thread about elephants for once

ChihuahuaOfDoom@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 2y

I hope if we ever bridge the species communication gap, an elephant ironically names their child Dumbo.

lolcatnip@reddthat.com · 12 pts · 2y

Jesus, CBS, just say they have names.

andrade@infosec.pub · 3 pts · 2y

As far as we know we could have a lot in common with elephants.

"Donatella, Margaret, quick, call the forest rangers. I just saw an African elephant standing by the lake!" – Karen, the gray

JayTreeman@fedia.io · 1 pts · 2y (4 replies)

Art, check Funerals, check (also implies religion) Names, check

At this point how are they different from us. Besides the looks

Edit: implies doesn't mean prove. Funerals is one thing, but graveyards are a little different

MonkderDritte@feddit.de · 21 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Funerals, check (also implies religion)

Or respect for each other. Don't need religion for funerals.

PancakeTrebuchet@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y

To be fair, it's entirely possible elephants have created a deity of sorts. We'd have zero way of knowing.

Olhonestjim@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 2y (1 reply)

Funerals don't imply religion. Religionists like to pretend that it's the only reason people care about each other. But that's silly, isn't it?

sukhmel@programming.dev · 2 pts · 2y

The true single reason people care about each other is money, of course /s