For the first time, animals have been found giving each other unique names rather than just imitating each other’s sounds, like parrots and dolphins do.
ElephantVoices’ scientific director, Dr. Joyce Poole, who was a member of the team that produced the discovery that was published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, stated, “It’s really exciting.”
“The society that elephants inhabit is fairly intricate. They and we are somewhat similar in that families do not always stay together; they break up and then reunite,” she said to News.
Family members can summon one another back to the herd by addressing each other by name.
Sandy! “Shilly the elephant grumbles.”
The researchers provided News with an audio recording of an elephant they named Shirley making a call to Sandy. Sandy’s moniker, according to the researchers, is a loud, resonating rumble that lasts for around six seconds, far beyond the trumpeting sound we generally associate with elephants.
In a different, ‘Echo’ summons another elephant, Ella. While Sandy’s name gradually decreases in volume and tone before lingering, Ella’s name has a longer, slower close.
