Elephant cognition

Uncommon card · No. 168446

Elephant cognition is animal cognition as present in elephants. Most contemporary ethologists view the elephant as one of the world's most intelligent animals. Elephants manifest a wide variety of behaviors, including those associated with grief, learning, mimicry, playing, altruism, tool use, compassion, cooperation, self-awareness, memory, and communication. They can also exhibit negative qualities such as revenge towards those perceived to have harmed them or their families. Duncan McNair, a lawyer and founder of conservation charity Save The Asian Elephants, told Newsweek that ... "although gentle creatures, elephants can be dangerous and deadly". Evidence suggests elephants may understand pointing, the ability to nonverbally communicate an object by extending their multi-purpose trunks. An elephant brain weighs around 5 kg (11 lb), which is about four times the size of a human brain and the heaviest of any terrestrial animal. It has about 257 billion neurons, which is about three times...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Steve Evans from Citizen of the World, Public domain