Tool usage is not solely a human trait; several animals, including chimpanzees, dolphins, crows, and elephants, demonstrate the ability to use tools. A recent report in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on November 8, 2024, showcases elephants’ impressive talent for using a hose as a flexible showerhead. Interestingly, researchers discovered that one elephant appears to know how to turn off the water, possibly as a playful trick.
Tool usage is not confined to humans. Chimpanzees use sticks for various tasks, and dolphins, crows, and elephants also exhibit tool-using skills. A report published in Current Biology on November 8, 2024, emphasizes the extraordinary ability of elephants to utilize a hose as a showerhead. Surprisingly, researchers have found evidence that another elephant can turn off the water, possibly as a kind of “prank.”
Michael Brecht from Humboldt University of Berlin, one of the leading authors of the study, remarked, “Elephants are incredible with hoses. Their behavior with these tools varies significantly from one elephant to another; for instance, Mary is a master at showering.”
The breakthrough came when Lena Kaufmann, another senior author and researcher at Humboldt University of Berlin, observed an Asian elephant named Mary showering at the Berlin Zoo and documented it on video. Excited by the findings, she shared the footage with her colleagues, leading Lea Urban, the lead study author, to explore the behavior further.
Brecht noted, “I hadn’t considered hoses as tools before, but Lea’s research revealed elephants have a remarkable grasp of how to use them effectively.”
The researchers found that Mary meticulously showers her body, coordinating the hose with her movements. Typically, she holds the hose near its tip to use it as a rigid showerhead. To clean her back, she transitions to a lasso technique, gripping the hose further up and swinging it over her body. When given a larger, heavier hose, Mary chose to use her trunk instead of the less manageable hose.
This discovery highlights a clear example of purposeful tool use. However, the researchers were particularly surprised by the behavior of another Asian elephant, Anchali, during Mary’s shower.
According to the researchers, interactions between the two elephants became tense during shower time. At one moment, Anchali began tugging on the hose toward herself, manipulating it to disrupt the water flow. While they can’t definitively discern Anchali’s motives, it appeared she was engaging in a form of secondary tool use, interfering with Mary’s resource as a possible prank.
Brecht commented, “The surprising factor was certainly Anchali’s kink-and-clamp behavior. No one expected she could perform such a clever trick.”
There was substantial discussion among the researchers regarding the implications of Anchali’s actions. They later witnessed Anchali attempting another method to disrupt Mary’s shower, which they referred to as a trunkstand. In this instance, Anchali rested her trunk on the hose and then lowered her large body onto it.
According to Brecht, the elephants have been trained not to step on hoses to avoid reprimands from their keepers, which explains why they rarely do so. The researchers believe this constraint may motivate Anchali to devise more complex ways to halt the water during Mary’s showers.
Brecht expressed his growing conviction that Anchali was indeed trying to disrupt Mary’s shower when she devised a second method to obstruct the water flow.
This research underscores the incredible dexterity and tool-using capability of elephants, made possible by their adept trunks. The researchers now ponder what these findings about zoo elephants indicate regarding their wild counterparts.
Brecht questioned, “Do elephants play pranks on each other in the wild? When I first observed Anchali’s kink and clamp technique, I couldn’t help but laugh. I wonder if Anchali sees this as amusing, or if it’s simply malicious?”
This study was supported by the European Research Council.
For a video included in the journal article, visit: Current Biology.
