Elephant cognition is animal cognition as present in Elephant elephants. Most contemporary ethology ethologists view the elephant as one of the world's most intelligent animals. With a mass of just over 5 kg (11 lb), an elephant's brain has more mass than that of any other land animal, and although the largest whales have body masses twenty times those of a typical elephant, a whale's brain is barely twice the mass of an elephant's brain. In addition, elephants have around 257 billion neurons.[1] Elephant brains are similar to those of humans and many other mammals in terms of general connectivity and functional areas, with several unique structural differences. Although initially estimated to have as many neurons as a human brain,[2] the elephant's brain has about three times the amount of neurons as a human brain. However, the elephant's cerebral cortex has about one-third of the number of neurons as a human's cerebral cortex.[1]
Elephants manifest a wide variety of behaviors, including those associated with grief, learning, mimicry, play, altruism, use of tools, compassion, cooperation,[3][4] self-awareness, memory, and communication.[5] Further evidence suggests elephants may understand pointing: the ability to nonverbally communicate an object by extending a finger, or equivalent.[6] It is thought they are equal with cetaceans[7][8][9][10] and primates[8][11][12] in this regard. Due to such claims of high intelligence and due to strong family ties of elephants, some researchers argue it is morally wrong for humans to cull them.[13] Aristotle described the elephant as "the animal that surpasses all others in wit and mind."[14]
^ abHerculano-Houzel, Suzana; Avelino-de-Souza, Kamilla; Neves, Kleber; Porfírio, Jairo; Messeder, Débora; Mattos Feijó, Larissa; Maldonado, José; Manger, Paul R. (2014). "The elephant brain in numbers". Frontiers in Neuroanatomy. 8: 46. doi:10.3389/fnana.2014.00046. PMC 4053853. PMID 24971054. S2CID 17022779.
^Roth, Gerhard; Maxim I. Stamenov; Vittorio Gallese. "Is the human brain unique?". Mirror Neurons and the Evolution of Brain and Language. John Benjamins Publishing. pp. 63–76.
^Plotnik, J. M.; Lair, R.; Suphachoksahakun, W.; de Waal, F. B. M. (2011). "Elephants know when they need a helping trunk in a cooperative task". PNAS. 108 (12): 5116–5121. doi:10.1073/pnas.1101765108. PMC 3064331. PMID 21383191.
^BBC: Elephants know how to co-operate http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9417000/9417308.stm Archived 2013-10-10 at the Wayback Machine
^Parsell, D.L. (2003-02-21). "In Africa, Decoding the "Language" of Elephants". National Geographic News. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
^Zimmer, Carl (10 October 2013). "Elephants Get the Point of Pointing, Study Shows". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 October 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
^Jennifer Viegas (2011). "Elephants smart as chimps, dolphins". ABC Science. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
^ abJennifer Viegas (2011). "Elephants Outwit Humans During Intelligence Test". Discovery News. Archived from the original on 12 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-19.
^"What Makes Dolphins So Smart?". The Ultimate Guide: Dolphins. 1999. Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
^"Mind, memory and feelings". Friends Of The Elephant. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
^Hart, B.L.; L.A. Hart; M. McCoy; C.R. Sarath (November 2001). "Cognitive behaviour in Asian elephants: use and modification of branches for fly switching". Animal Behaviour. 62 (5). Academic Press: 839–847. doi:10.1006/anbe.2001.1815. S2CID 53184282.
^Scott, David (2007-10-19). "Elephants Really Don't Forget". Daily Express. Archived from the original on 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2007-10-30.
^Tom, Patrick (2002). "The Debate Over Elephant Culling: Is it Ever Morally Justified to Cull Elephants?" (PDF). Zambezia. XXIX (i). University of Zimbabwe: 76–81 [79]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
^O'Connell, Caitlin (2007). The Elephant's Secret Sense: The Hidden Lives of the Wild Herds of Africa. New York City: Simon & Schuster. pp. 174, 184. ISBN 978-0-7432-8441-7.
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