This Is Another Reason Why Elephants Are Amazing...
Elephant Turns Hose into Sophisticated Showering Tool
Tool use isn't unique to humans. Now a new report highlights elephants' remarkable skill in using a hose as a flexible shower head.
The findings, published in the Cell Press journal Current Biology, showcase the Asian elephant Mary at the Berlin Zoo systematically showering her body and coordinating the water hose with her limbs.
"Elephants are amazing with hoses," says Michael Brecht of the Humboldt University of Berlin. "As it 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 were also surprised by the behavior of another elephant, Anchali, who appeared to intentionally disrupt Mary's showering. Anchali would pull the hose, lift and kink it to stop the water flow, and even perform a "trunkstand" to block the hose with her body weight.
"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."
The researchers suspect Anchali may have been trying to "sabotage" Mary's shower, suggesting elephants may play tricks on each other.
The findings offer new insights into elephants' extraordinary manipulative skills and tool use abilities, made possible by the grasping power of their trunks.
The researchers now wonder what such behaviors might look like in wild elephant populations.
