Elephants Classify Human Ethnic Groups by Odor and Garment Color

Bates, Lucy A.; Sayialel, Katito; Njiraini, Norah; Moss, Cynthia J.; Poole, Joyce H.; Byrne, Richard W.

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2007.09.060

Cited by 123 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The Kamba, on the other hand, are agriculturalists with little reason to threaten elephant herds. Previous research has shown that elephants react more negatively to the color and smell of clothing worn by Maasai than that worn by Kamba (11). McComb et al, however, focus here on what is probably the elephants' most acute sensory modality, sound, to assess the elephants' evaluation of human threats.…”

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confidence: 99%

Extraordinary elephant perception

Plotnik

Waal

2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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confidence: 99%

Extraordinary elephant perception

Plotnik

Waal

2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…African elephants are also already known to make broad distinctions between human ethnic groups on the basis of visual and olfactory cues (15). In the Amboseli ecosystem in Kenya, Maasai pastoralists periodically come into conflict with elephants over access to water and grazing for their cattle, and this sometimes results in elephants being speared, particularly in retaliation when Maasai lives have been lost (15,22). In contrast, Kamba men, with more agricultural lifestyles, do not typically pose a significant threat to elephants within the National Park, and where conflict occurs outside over crop raiding, this largely involves male rather than female elephants (see, for example, ref.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…This focus has demonstrated that a number of different species are able to use visual cues to distinguish between individual humans that present varying levels of threat (4,5,(14)(15)(16). However, acoustic cues could potentially provide a more effective means of classifying human predators by virtue of enabling categories of particularly dangerous humans to be identified.…”

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Elephants can determine ethnicity, gender, and age from acoustic cues in human voices

McComb

Shannon

Sayialel

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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130

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Animals can accrue direct fitness benefits by accurately classifying predatory threat according to the species of predator and the magnitude of risk associated with an encounter. Human predators present a particularly interesting cognitive challenge, as it is typically the case that different human subgroups pose radically different levels of danger to animals living around them. Although a number of prey species have proved able to discriminate between certain human categories on the basis of visual and olfactory cues, vocalizations potentially provide a much richer source of information. We now use controlled playback experiments to investigate whether family groups of free-ranging African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Amboseli National Park, Kenya can use acoustic characteristics of speech to make functionally relevant distinctions between human subcategories differing not only in ethnicity but also in sex and age. Our results demonstrate that elephants can reliably discriminate between two different ethnic groups that differ in the level of threat they represent, significantly increasing their probability of defensive bunching and investigative smelling following playbacks of Maasai voices. Moreover, these responses were specific to the sex and age of Maasai presented, with the voices of Maasai women and boys, subcategories that would generally pose little threat, significantly less likely to produce these behavioral responses. Considering the long history and often pervasive predatory threat associated with humans across the globe, it is likely that abilities to precisely identify dangerous subcategories of humans on the basis of subtle voice characteristics could have been selected for in other cognitively advanced animal species.T he ability to recognize predators and assess the level of threat that they pose is a crucial cognitive skill for many wild animals that has very direct and obvious fitness consequences (1-5). Until recently, most research in this area focused on how a range of birds and mammals classify other animal predators, demonstrating complex abilities to differentiate between predators with different hunting styles and respond with appropriate escape tactics (2, 3, 6-8). However, for many wild populations, humans represent a significant predatory threat (5, 9, 10) and this threat is rapidly increasing as areas for wildlife decrease and humananimal conflict grows. Moreover, as it is typically the case that not all humans pose the same risk to prey species, distinguishing between different human subgroups to identify those associated with genuinely threatening situations could present a major cognitive challenge. The extent of behavioral flexibility that different species may exhibit in correctly classifying human predators-and the degree of sophistication possible in such abilities-is therefore of considerable interest.Most research on the abilities of animals to classify human predators has focused on discrimination through facial features or general differences in behavior and appear...

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“…Elephants did display aggressive behaviours when dangerous Maasai hunter clothes were displayed visually, but Maasai olfactory cues were absent. Bates et al [15] concluded that the presence of clothes without accompanying olfactory cues indicated that the humans were no longer present in the area. Thus, a reduced level of threat perception allowed elephants to react more aggressively, as we propose happened when our elephants perceived lesser threat from leopard growls.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wild Asian elephants distinguish aggressive tiger and leopard growls according to perceived danger

Thuppil

Coss

2013

Biol. Lett.

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Prey species exhibit antipredator behaviours such as alertness, aggression and flight, among others, in response to predators. The nature of this response is variable, with animals reacting more strongly in situations of increased vulnerability. Our research described here is the first formal study to investigate night-time antipredator behaviour in any species of elephants, Asian or African. We examined the provocative effects of elephant-triggered tiger and leopard growls while elephants attempted to crop-raid. Tigers opportunistically prey on elephant calves, whereas leopards pose no threat; therefore, we predicted that the elephant response would be reflective of this difference. Elephants reacted similarly cautiously to the simulated presence of felids of both species by eventually moving away, but differed markedly in their more immediate behavioural responses. Elephants retreated silently to tigergrowl playbacks, whereas they responded with aggressive vocalizations, such as trumpets and grunts, to leopard-growl playbacks. Elephants also lingered in the area and displayed alert or investigative behaviours in response to leopard growls when compared with tiger growls. We anticipate that the methods outlined here will promote further study of elephant antipredator behaviour in a naturalistic context, with applications for conservation efforts as well.

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Elephants Classify Human Ethnic Groups by Odor and Garment Color

Cited by 123 publications

References 18 publications

Extraordinary elephant perception

Extraordinary elephant perception

Elephants can determine ethnicity, gender, and age from acoustic cues in human voices

Wild Asian elephants distinguish aggressive tiger and leopard growls according to perceived danger

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