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Elephants possess 'body-awareness'


Claire.

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Elephants' 'body awareness' adds to increasing evidence of their intelligence

Asian elephants are able to recognise their bodies as obstacles to success in problem-solving, further strengthening evidence of their intelligence and self-awareness, according to a new study from the University of Cambridge.

Read more: Phys.org

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Remarkable animals that show high levels of intelligence and self awareness.

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/can-elephants-really-paint

Its true some elephants are trained to paint an image repeatedly for monetary gain and Im not to cool with that. The animal becomes agitated, bored.. but it shows levels of awareness other animals do not possess. Amazing creatures

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The behavioral experimentation done with cats in mazes initially concluded a lack of intelligence because the cats did not immediately seek out the food. Instead, given their curious nature, the cats simply enjoyed the process of exploration more than solving the puzzle. It is unfortunate that we tend to measure intelligence largely on a human scale. Any animal that has managed to survive the predatory nature of humans is a tribute to its adaptability and intelligence.

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15 hours ago, khol said:

Remarkable animals that show high levels of intelligence and self awareness.

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/can-elephants-really-paint

Its true some elephants are trained to paint an image repeatedly for monetary gain and Im not to cool with that. The animal becomes agitated, bored.. but it shows levels of awareness other animals do not possess. Amazing creatures

But are you cool with people being forced to do that?

This test is kind of simplistic and these results being the entirety of the investigation leaves me feeling as though they are still greatly understating the intelligence of the elephants.

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2 hours ago, seanjo said:

Dunno, seems a bit iffy to me, my Dogs will put their paw on an object to stop it moving when they are trying to chew it or lick it.


Pointing is a better test, any animal that understands you are pointing at something for them to look at it, instead of looking at the end of your finger or at your hand, is a real test IMO.

In my estimation, the test shows a rudimentary analysis ability.  Animals are smarter than we give credit to them.  Just because your dog puts his paw on something shows me the dog is smart enough to know the edible in question needs to be kept in place.

I know lots of people that have trouble finding objects by just pointing to them.  It depends on the angle of the view the person has of your point.  Perspective is everything.

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On 4/12/2017 at 11:32 PM, Nnicolette said:

But are you cool with people being forced to do that?

This test is kind of simplistic and these results being the entirety of the investigation leaves me feeling as though they are still greatly understating the intelligence of the elephants.

People have free will and can just stop doing something whenever they choose to, unfortunately animals do not, and are forced to do things even though they don't want to.

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All animals are more intelligent than people give them credit for. Trying to compare an animals intelligence to that of a human is a waste of time. Every species is intelligent in its own way, so comparing an elephant to say,a cat or dog, is pointless since they are different species. Even comparing animals of the same species is pointless, because just like people, there are the geniuses and the not so bright in the bunch. They are all individuals, not cookie cutter copies of each other. Any species that has survived to this day has to have a certain degree of intelligence. No tests needed.

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Of course an elephant has body awareness.

Was there ever one person alive who seriously thought otherwise? 

setting out to prove the obvious is a fail on every level.

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Many years ago a directive went out in the New South Wales railways not to load elephants in circus trains directly behind the tender of a steam locomotive. An elephant had reached out to the tender, turned on a valve and the engine ran out of water, stranding the train. It would not surprise me if the elephant just wanted a nice cool drink and had seen a water valve before. I've seen a dog trying to turn a water tap on. She might have succeeded too, but I did it for her.

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On 4/20/2017 at 7:19 AM, taniwha said:

Of course an elephant has body awareness.

Was there ever one person alive who seriously thought otherwise? 

setting out to prove the obvious is a fail on every level.

Body-awareness, or more precisely self-awareness, is a very rare trait among species. So far it's only been reported in Grey Parrots, Apes (but not monkeys), Elephants and humans. The "mirror test" is often use to determine if a species is self-aware, if the individual recognizes that it is itself it's looking at, then it may be self-aware. Interestingly, humans do not perform well at the mirror test until about three years of age. 

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