When I try to compare and contrast animals with humans I only used to think of chimpanzees having human characteristics, besides my dog of course. The only thing commonly broadcasted in the news is typically about Jane Goodall and her studies at Gombe Stream National Park in the East African nation of Tanzania. Her work was very “unorthodox and controversial: for instance, rather than assigning her chimps numbers, she gave them names like “Fifi” and “Passion.” As a result when people try to find similarities between humans and animals most people think of chimpanzees. Her invaluable data impacted the study of not only chimpanzees but also their relation to humans. Besides Jane Goodall’s study with chimpanzees I used to know nothing else.

I recently had the incredible opportunity to spend a few days at an Asian elephant refugee camp in Thailand. The first day I was able to experience the beauty of what dossal creatures they are, it was my first direct encounter that made me realize how intelligent they are. By the end of two hours they followed my Thai commands, gave me kisses, and did yoga posses with my mom. My real epiphany happened the following day during my informational session. I learned that the “elephant brain can transfer detailed information between auditory centers and the corresponding motor planning regions (including those controlling the trunk muscles), in addition to having the precise control over the larynx necessary to gate and modulate fundamental frequency”. On top of their abilities to communicate I also found out that elephants are capable of complex emotions. Elephants, like human, run to greet family and friends, play in water when it’s a hot day, have bonds between mothers and daughters for over 50 years, mourn for their loved ones and even “one perplexing report was of an adult elephant making repeated attempt to help a baby rhinoceros stuck in the mud.” 

The revelation most near and dear to my heart is their ability to recognize themselves in the mirror. During my stay in Thailand my dad worked really closely with an elephant named Pepsi. He was one of the first elephants to recognize himself in the mirror. He began to touch the mirror and then he proceeded to look inside his mouth, and show off his tusks, ultimately studying himself; a behavior that showed that elephants are self-aware.

Although I am biased because elephants are my favorite animal, I think this study was truly incredible because it opened up the horizons to many animal scientists: maybe there are more animals out there that are more like us than we think. Some people don’t see the significance in studying animals but I think it’s really important that we get to know who we share this planet with. By understanding animals more we are able to make better-educated decisions. For example, right now people fear that Asian elephants are becoming extinct. People are tearing apart their homes in the desert without considering the short and long-term effects it will have on the herds of elephants.

Another positive thing that comes from understanding elephants is enforcing laws. Many Asian elephants are abused in Thailand for the sake of tourism. People take elephants from their habitats and bring them to big cities and burn their feet on the hot pavement to sell pictures with them to tourists. It’s a lot easier to abuse an animal if you don’t think they realize what’s happening to them. Now that we are discovering they are self-aware we can infer they know when their feet are burning or when they are separated from loved ones.

If you want to watch the video of elephants checking themselves out in a mirror you should really watch this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpooaD3cCE8

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