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Selene Nguyen
Professor Haas
Writing 39C
24 April 2016
A Historical Literature Review on Elephant Cognition, Social Structure, and Grief
Introduction
Humans and animals have long coexisted together. Although considered an animal
species ourselves, it has been proposed that humans hold ultimate superiority over the other
supposedly mindless creatures on Earth due to cultural and religious influences prompting the
notion that we have been granted natural dominion over them. Rene Descartes, a 17th century
French philosopher once said, The reason animals do not speak as we do is not that they lack
the organs, but that they have no thoughts (Qtd by Kluger). Descartes ideals were firmly held by
the scientific community for years until Charles Darwin introduced his theory of evolution in his
book, On the Origin of Species (1859) which proposed that animals minds differed from humans
only in degree, not kind (Animal Minds). Darwins attitude to animals vastly differed from
traditional European-thought -- that animals did not have minds. One of his last books, The
Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals, explored similar emotional traits possessed by
both humans and animals. Although for years leading up to the mid 20th century, Descartes
beliefs were more widely held than Darwins, recent progress in research over the last 40 years
has prompted scientists to abandon their notions of behaviorism -- a view which takes on the
assumption that animals passively learn through their environmental stimuli -- to take on a more
Darwinist view of animals. This review of literature is meant to challenge the outdated ideals of
animal inferiority by exploring the research that scientists have been conducting which delves

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deep into the animal science of elephants in hopes of answering the very question that has fueled
debates hundreds of years ago, Do animals have minds? By discussing articles by the
prominent scientists in the field of elephant studies such as Carl Safina, Iain Douglas-Hamilton,
Joshua Plotnik, Elizabeth Archie, and others, this paper will first examine how elephants are
capable of a higher degree of cognition similar to humans, then it will elaborate on the social
structures of elephants and how this plays a role in their overall intelligence. Lastly, the paper
will explore the area of elephant grief which supports the idea that these creatures are able to
express some form of emotion.
Cognition
It has been falsely presumed that the size of the brain dictates the level of intelligence an
animal has. This reason has been widely used to justify human superiority over our fellow
animals. But, if the size of an animals brain truly matters, we must then examine the elephant;
an animal that is not only the biggest creature on land, it is also one that possesses the largest
brain of land mammals as well, weighing in at almost 13 pounds. Although the notion of animal
consciousness and intelligence has long been studied, Bernhard Rensch, a German evolutionary
biologist, took on the task of measuring the capacity of elephant intelligence through
experiments conducted on a five-year-old female elephant at a German zoo which tested her
visual memory and abstract prowess.

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Graph taken from Renschs study on elephant intelligence depicting one of the visual abstract tasks the
elephant needed to pass.

The image presented represents one of the tests given to the elephant. This one in particular was
designed to test her ability to understand the abstract idea of a cross...The elephant had been
trained to recognize the cross at upper left as a positive signal. She chose all the other figures as
positive except the ones in the middle of the top row, at the left in the middle row and at lower
left (Rensch 48). This trial conducted demonstrated that elephants are able to discriminate
between various symbols and understand conceptual ideas. Before Renschs study in 1957, little
attention had been paid to the brain of elephants. Based on his research, Rensch hypothesized
that brain size is certainly some indication of intelligence after the elephant in his experiments
passed an overwhelming majority of his intelligence trials (49). Another widely used test to
determine mental capacity is the mirror self recognition (MSR) test. Elephants, apes, and
dolphins are among the few known creatures who can pass this test. In a study orchestrated by
Joshua Plotnik, an animal behavior psychologist who specializes in elephant research, and his
colleagues, three Asian elephants were subjected to the MSR test. By recording the four stages of

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behavior the elephants experienced when exposed to a large mirror, they concluded that the
elephants actions were very similar to the known animals who have passed the test before such
as the great apes and dolphins. Plotnik et. als research provides greater insight into into the
cognitive abilities and intelligence of elephants, demonstrating that elephants possess a theory of
mind -- the ability to understand ones and others own mental states, since they showed the
ability to recognize themselves in a mirror. Moreover, in his book, Beyond Words: What
Animals Think and Feel, award-winning ecologist Carl Safina argues in his section, The Same
Basic Brain, that despite our species difference, humans and elephants have the same
fundamental wiring in our brains; we experience very similar feelings so much so that the
dividing line between us and them are becoming blurred. He states, we maintain a certain
insecure instance that animals are not like us -- though we are animals. Could any relationship
be more fundamentally miscomprehended? (20). In the same excerpt from his book, Carl Safina
argues that animals are indeed capable of consciousness despite lacking a cerebral cortex that
humans have. As evidenced by a man named Roger who lost his cerebral cortex due to a brain
infection, he still understands and acts like a human even without a brain that resembles one (22).
It should then be suggested that animals may not lack any intelligence after all, that their brains
have evolved to suit the context within their own environment.
Social Groups
What might drive intelligence may not just be in an animals brain, but how animals
function in their collective societies. Machiavellian Intelligence, also known as social
intelligence, was at first a term used to describe intelligence in humans and primates, but is now
being spread to elephants, dolphins, and other creatures. As stated by Byrne et. al, a
neuroscientist studying the of cognitive and social behavior, there is a considerable body of

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theory and supportive data to suggest that living in an extensive social network often correlates
with, and likely promotes, cognitive sophistication (Byrne & Bates) (66). As highly social
animals, elephants form herds to and must be able to pick up on the cues that distinguishes
between certain elephants in their own herd to others in another. Not only does it take
brainpower to be able to recognize hundreds of elephants based on subtle notions alone, but these
creatures can also utilize low frequency calls that take the form of rumbles to communicate with
the members in their herd and those of relation to them (Poole et. al). From research conducted
by Joyce Pool, an ethologist specializing in elephant behavioral studies, and her colleagues in
1988, they concluded after studying the vocalizations of elephants that their data indicate that
elephants use very low frequency calls as a medium to coordinate some aspects of their
reproductive and group behavior (391). Recently, Elizabeth Archie, a behavioral ecologist who
focuses on social behavior in animals, and her colleagues outlined the social relationships formed
by female elephants. As stated, Elephantsboth Asian and Africanlive in flexible, multitiered, fission- fusion societies (Archie et. al 8) with elephant matriarchs leading the herd.
Observed through genetic analysis of the structure of elephant communities, Archie et. al found
that elephants spent more time around their maternal kin, but did not stop them from socializing
with other elephants as well due to the benefits attributed to these social interactions. In her
research, Archie et. al communicated that, In fact, females without any close kin in their family
were just as likely to have close neighbors, receive affiliation, or engage in a cooperative
coalition...with another group member as were females that had many close maternal kin (243).
Similar to humans, elephants are highly social creatures, however as suggested by the research,
their relationships with others in their groups provides the female elephants a way to successfully
reproduce and survive. Because of their social nature, elephants are capable of displaying signs

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of empathy such as helping the fellow members of their herd through actions such as babysitting
another elephants calf or providing emotional comfort when one is in distress for both related
and unrelated elephants (Bates et. al). The research explored here supports the notion that
elephants display incredible social intelligence through the behavior exhibited in their social
groups for the benefit of the species as a whole.
Grief
Stated in the prior paragraph, elephants prove to be capable of exhibiting forms of
empathy, and because of this, it can be assumed that they can also demonstrate signs of grief
when experiencing a loss of one of their own. African elephants in particular have shown high
levels of interest in the skulls and ivory of their own species (McComb et. al). Elephants are
incredibly social creatures and exist in matrilineal communities. These matriarchs, often the
oldest surviving female, are storehouses of information (McComb et. al) which could prove to be
the destruction of a herd when one dies. Although recent research has suggested that humans and
animals share similar traits, in order to further understand their behavior, Hamilton, a world
renowned zoologist and elephant researcher, along with his colleagues conducted observations of
elephants through the eventful death of a matriarch named Eleanor of the family unit known as
the First Ladies (FL) in Kenya. In terms of methodology, Hamilton had closely monitored the
elephants through radio-tracking and whenever an elephant came up to Eleanors body, a
photograph would be taken directly at the site. Through days of close observation, Hamilton et.
al found that elephants seem to show interest in the bodies of other dying or dead elephants that
is not only restricted to kin (15) since four unrelated elephant families paid a visit to the
matriarchs dead body, depicting a clear interest in her carcass. In the case of Eleanors death, the
researchers concluded that elephants and humans share emotions, such as compassion, and have

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an awareness and interest about death (15). Observations gathered from Hamiltons research and
through prior studies on the subject suggest that elephants have a generalized response to
suffering and death of conspecifics and that this is not restricted to kin (15). The case of
Eleanors death provides a clear example of elephants exhibiting genuine emotions with humans
such as sadness, compassion, and grief.
Conclusion
To conclude, many studies conducted over the last century has forced us humans to look
at other animal species in a different light. Peter Singer, a renowned bioethicist from Princeton
University who helped launch the animal rights movement, argued that the ability to suffer is a
great cross-species leveler, and we should not inflict pain on or cause fear in an animal that we
wouldnt want to experience ourselves (Kluger). Although for centuries society has held onto
the firm belief that animals lack consciousness, do not think, and cannot feel to justify the acts of
cruelty humans have collectively committed on these animals, times are changing and we now
understand that animals are quite similar to humans in numerous ways. Elephants in particular
are capable of profound intelligence, forming close social bonds with those of their old species,
and feeling grief over the loss of a companion. For this very reason we can no longer justify the
actions committed on elephants because of the ivory trade which kills 35,000 elephants each year
(Poladian). We must work together to bring awareness to ivory poaching and save these sentient
beings to alleviate their dwindling numbers.

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Archie, Elizabeth A., Cynthia J. Moss, and Susan C. Alberts. "Friends and Relations." The
Amboseli Elephants A Long-Term Perspective on a Long-Lived Mammal (2011): 238-45.
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Bates, Lucy A. et. al, "Do Elephants Show Empathy?" Journal of Consciousness Studies (2008):
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Byrne, Richard W., Lucy A. Bates, and Cynthia J. Moss. "Elephant Cognition in Primate
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Byrne, Richard W., and Lucy A. Bates. "Sociality, Evolution and Cognition."Current Biology
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Poladian, Charles. "World Elephant Day 2015: Poaching And Ivory Trafficking Kill 35,000
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