Animals have accompanied humans in warfare practically since the domestication of dogs, serving as combat vehicles of the era, alongside chariots, horses, camels, and elephants. The latter can be considered the tanks of bygone times and are often depicted in illustrations and films, though almost always inaccurately: illustrations typically show them as enormous, the typical […]
Elephants
Researchers Uncover Elephants Giving Each Other Unique Names, a Trait Previously Exclusive to Humans
The use of proper names to refer to other individuals is a universal feature of human language. However, few similar examples are found in other species. While dolphins and parrots address others by imitating their calls, human names do not imitate the sounds that people typically make. Researchers in Animal Behavior studied the vocal communications […]
Researchers Trace 60 Million Years of Elephant Evolution and How Humans May Be their Downfall
In 2013, paleontologist Bill Sanders from the University of Michigan received an intriguing invitation. An international team of researchers studying fossils in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates had uncovered something in the desert they wanted him to see. Sanders had devoted his career since the 1980s to investigating proboscideans, the order of huge plant-eating mammals […]