The buckets were covered with lids that the elephants could not see through, but with holes that smells could escape through. “Remarkably, when we put two different quantities in the buckets, the elephants consistently chose the quantity that had more over less,” Plotnik said. How elephants might be able to tell how much food is present using only their senses of smell is still a mystery, said Plotnik. Understanding how elephants use smell to find food may have profound implications for conservation of these highly endangered animals, Plotnik said. Currently, most strategies for avoiding human and elephant conflict rely on frightening elephants away, rather than using some understanding of their behaviour.

Source: bd News24 June 10, 2019 06:45 UTC