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“Coo-Rumble”: In Gorongosa Matriarch Junia and her daughter Coo-Rumble as they touch an infant. Photo: ElephantVoices
They say elephants never forget. And, for decades, scientists have shown us that elephants are also highly intelligent. They are “among the most socially complex non-human species on our planet,” according to Dr. Joyce Poole, Scientific Director of the non-profit group, ElephantVoices.
The social complexity of elephants is expressed in a wide range of behaviours and communications that Dr. Poole has helped identify, based on 45 years of work in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique, as well as Amboseli National Park and Maasai Mara ecosystem in Kenya. Now, thanks to Dr. Poole and her husband Petter Granli, CEO of ElephantVoices, the world finally has a comprehensive tool for understanding the language of elephants.
Dr. Poole has compiled all her research into a landmark project: The Elephant Ethogram: A Library of African Elephant Behaviour, a unique, user-friendly online database on the behaviour and communication of the endangered African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana). The fully searchable database categorizes and describes over 500 behaviours, and documents them with over 3,000 annotated video clips, audio field recordings and photographs.
Dr. Poole describes the project as a “multimedia catalogue, or library, that aims to describe the characteristics and, where possible, the functions of the behaviours that have been recorded for African savanna elephants. We intend The Elephant Ethogram to be a repository for scientific study and comparison, and to inspire broader interest in elephant behaviour, conservation and welfare.”
The Elephant Ethogram documents the “rich postural, gestural, tactile, chemical and acoustic communication and behaviour of savanna elephants, including rare, novel and idiosyncratic behaviour, as well as that expressed in response to people,” explains Dr. Poole. The Elephant Ethogram is based on decades of behavioural studies and photographic, acoustic and videographic collections and defines 404 Behaviours, 109 Behavioural Constellations and 23 Contexts.
Announcing the release of the project, Petter Granli, CEO of ElephantVoices, said, “We are very excited with the results of this massive, multi-year effort. The Elephant Ethogram is really a culmination of Joyce’s life’s work, and it feels very satisfying to be able to share it with the world through the organisation we founded and have built together.”
A significant portion of the video clips used in The Elephant Ethogram were filmed in Gorongosa National Park during Poole and Granli’s research over the last decade. Much of the video used was originally created for television programs, such as the PBS and National Geographic’s “Gorongosa Park Rebirth of Paradise” 6-part series, filmed by Joyce’s brother, Bob Poole, an award-winning wildlife cameraman. Thanks to a special arrangement with Gorongosa Media and other copyright stakeholders, permission was granted for the footage to be used for this important scientific and educational purpose.
“We were delighted this footage could be used in The Elephant Ethogram,” said James Byrne, Director of Gorongosa Media. “For decades, by freely and generously contributing her time to TV programs—often appearing on-camera as well as acting as a scientific consultant—Joyce has been a powerful global voice on behalf of elephants in public communications. She is one of a handful of people that have shown the world how extraordinary—and vulnerable—elephants are. Doing all this TV work has raised global awareness, concern, and protection for elephants to a high level, but it’s come at a significant cost in terms of Joyce’s time, energy, and scientific focus. So, it’s really nice to be able to give back in a small way, and give this footage a scientific research and educational purpose beyond the TV programs, enriching the world’s understanding and appreciation of elephants.”
As interest in the intelligence and emotions of non-human animals grows in the scientific community and general public, The Elephant Ethogram reminds us about the extraordinary complexity and beauty of elephants, the world’s largest terrestrial animal species. Dr. Poole says, “We intend The Elephant Ethogram to be a repository for scientific study and comparison, and to inspire broader interest in elephant behaviour, conservation and welfare.”
Dr. Poole states that in the 45 years since her studies began, enormous changes have impacted the lives of elephants. “It is urgent to document the natural behaviour and gestural and acoustic communication of this complex, intelligent and charismatic species. Elephants are at the brink of potentially catastrophic changes, with their way of life, and very existence, endangered by our own species. We hope The Elephant Ethogram will remind people what will be lost if we don’t change course.”
Link to The Elephant Ethogram: A Library of African Elephant Behaviour:
https://www.elephantvoices.org/elephant-ethogram.html
A few video examples of the range of behaviours described in The Elephant Ethogram:
Bite-Trunk. Context: Social Play (1) – https://vimeo.com/351992001/8e5421068b
Casual-Stance. Context: Attentive (1) – https://vimeo.com/352869322/ea81b8e890
Contact-Rumble. Context: Movement Space & Leadership (1) – https://vimeo.com/369269946/65e177b95f
Ear-Wave. Context: Advertisement & Attraction (12) https://vimeo.com/468878265/24490f32e2 Estrous-Roar.
Context: Advertisement & Attraction (2) – https://vimeo.com/417185870
Foot-Nudge. Context: Calf Reassurance & Protection (1)
– https://vimeo.com/477993894/f30f068d6b
Greeting-Rumble. Context: Affiliative (6)
– https://vimeo.com/475054359
Head-Waggling. Context: Social-Play (5)
Kick-Back. Context: Movement Space & Leadership (4) – https://vimeo.com/358770704/47c5e429cc
Musth-Temporal-Gland-Secretion. Context: Advertisement & Attraction (4) – https://vimeo.com/473745275/d0e3e5cceb https://vimeo.com/473745275/d0e3e5cceb
Roll-Tree. Context: Foraging & Comfort Technique (2) – https://vimeo.com/369505708/c062fee4ae
Tail-Swatting. Context: Submissive (3) https://vimeo.com/480731564/3e47f0cdab
Trumpet-Blast. Context: Attacking & Mobbing (4) – https://vimeo.com/360485927
Trunk-Twisting. Context: Ambivalent (3) https://vimeo.com/360540174/e4cf2712f1
Link to National Geographic article:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/new-elephant-library-reveals-communication-mysteries
About the Gorongosa Project
Gorongosa National Park (GNP) in Mozambique is perhaps Africa’s greatest wildlife restoration story. In 2008, a 20-year Public-Private Partnership was established for the joint management of GNP between the Government of Mozambique and the Carr Foundation (Gorongosa Restoration Project), a US non-profit organisation.
GNP has been described as one of the most diverse parks on Earth, covering a vast expanse of 400,000 hectares. In recent years, the Gorongosa Project, with the support of Mozambique’s National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC), has ensured the protection of a recovering population of lions in this system, successfully reduced key threats, reintroduced painted wolves (aka African wild dogs) and leopards. Gorongosa has been recognized as one of National Geographic’s “Last Wild Places” and by TIME Magazine in 2019 as one of the “World’s Greatest Places”.
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