Elephant Talk: The Surprising Science of Elephant Communication

Elephant Talk: The Surprising Science of Elephant Communication — page 5
ELEPHANT TALK RIGHT A baby elephant follows its mother across the savanna in Amboseli It will learn lots of ways to communicate by observing members of its herd BELOW A savanna elephant flaps its large ears The calf knows the members of his large family by their scent He is beginning to learn the meaning of their calls as well as their body language a curled trunk a nod or a flapping ear His brain is gathering and processing information about his herd his environment and other animals He will have an elephant's unique combination of senses to do this and be aided much like a human baby by a long childhood in a close knit society As he grows to adulthood his brain will triple in size He is built to learn