Young Elephant Struck By Idea

Young Elephant Struck By Idea

Summary: A young Asian Elephant at the age of 7 surprised scientists as he moved a cube to be used as a step stool so he could reach fruit that was dangling above his exhibit. It is not possible to know what really goes on in an animal’s mind but this is the first demonstration of knowledgeable problem solving from an elephant. Elephants do have great long-term memory and some skills, but the mammals have not done well on previous tests of problem solving. They will normally find a resolution through trial and error. Previous tests have been done by using fruit pieces outside of the exhibits. The scientists provided the elephants with sticks and they used them for many things, but not to reach the food. After many attempts, the youngest elephant, used a cube that was there for him to play with and moved it under the fruit and used it as a stool to reach the fruit. This however isn’t enough to prove that elephant’s brains can solve their problems by insight. This was a quote mentioned in the article by Sara Shettleworth of the University of Toronto, who studies animal cognition. “Even people who study human problem solving do not agree there is a special mechanism of insight,” she says. “Humans and other animals may all be using simpler processes.”

Critique: I think this was a very interesting article. It makes me think about how animals think. I wonder if animals look at how we do things and try to accomplish things based on what we have done.

Impact: I think this has an impact in the scientific world. This just makes us one step closer to understanding the minds of animals and how they think.

Reference: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/333634/title/Young_elephant_struck_by_idea