Footage of hose-wielding Asian elephants at the Berlin Zoo has revealed impressive showering behaviors among the largest land animals and maybe even a spontaneous act of sabotage, according to a recent study.
Researchers at the Humboldt University of Berlin and the Berlin Zoological Garden studied water-hose tool use among three female elephants—Mary, Pang Pha, and Anchali. Mary, in particular, stood out for her “elaborate hose-showering behaviors,” the researchers noted in the November 8 report, published in the journal Current Biology.
Along with showering the traditional way—solely with her trunk–Mary spontaneously used her proboscis to pick up water hoses and shower her body “in multiple distinct and purposeful ways,” such as by adjusting her grip and stance and targeting different body parts, the researchers said.
They elaborated: “Mary usually grasped the hose behind the tip, using it as a stiff shower head. To reach her back, however, she grasped the hose further from the tip and swung it on her back, using hose flexibility and ballistics.” While using the hose, Mary spent more time showering the left side of her body. Yet, the researchers observed the opposite preference when Mary trunk-showered. “Many species that display a clearly lateralized tool-use behavior do not show a side preference for other behaviors, indicating that tool use promotes lateralization,” the researchers said. “Strangely, [Mary’s] side preference when trunk showering does not agree with her ‘trunkedness,’” they added.
Mary’s skillful use of this complex tool led the researchers to wonder if the elephants “have a somewhat intuitive understanding of hoses, potentially due to the similarities with their own trunks,” study co-author Lena Kaufmann explained in the paper’s video abstract.
At one point, Mary’s showering time was even disrupted by an apparent saboteur—the younger Anchali. During Mary’s rinse, “Anchali started pulling the water hose toward herself, lifting and kinking it, then re- grasping and compressing the kink.” The researchers charted the extent of Anchali’s repetitive “kink-and-clamp” actions across different sessions. They found that her bratty ability to block the flow of water increased over time.
As for the seemingly devious elephant’s intentions, the researchers noted that although their observations suggest sabotage, they don’t confirm it. “In control experiments with multiple hoses, it was not clear whether Anchali specifically targeted Mary’s showering hose,” they explained in the paper.
That said, this latest research provides further evidence elephants’ impressive smarts and dexterity, suggesting they’re not only tool users but may even enjoy a bit of playful trickery. It’s a reminder of just how complex and clever these animals are, adding to our understanding of the rich mental lives of these fascinating giants.
