Weird News - Things that make you go 'hmmm'

908 readers

128 users here now

Rules:

News must be from a reliable source. No tabloids or sensationalism, please.
Try to keep it safe for work. Contact a moderator before posting if you have any doubts.
Titles of articles must remain unchanged; however extraneous information like "Watch:" or "Look:" can be removed. Titles with trailing, non-relevant information can also be edited so long as the headline's intent remains intact.
Be nice. If you've got nothing positive to say, don't say it.

Violators will be banned at mod's discretion.

Communities We Like:

-Not the Onion

-And finally...

founded 9 months ago

MODERATORS

lemmyfanadmin

oleorun

African elephants call each other by unique names, new study shows (apnews.com)

submitted 5 months ago by oleorun to c/weirdnews

3 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Middle name used when they're REALLY in trouble.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

WASHINGTON (AP) — African elephants call each other and respond to individual names — something that few wild animals do, according to new research published Monday.

The names are one part of elephants’ low rumbles that they can hear over long distances across the savanna.

Scientists believe that animals with complex social structures and family groups that separate and then reunite often may be more likely to use individual names.

“If you’re looking after a large family, you’ve got to be able to say, ‘Hey, Virginia, get over here!’” said Duke University ecologist Stuart Pimm, who was not involved in the study.

Analyzing only the audio data, the computer model predicted which elephant was being addressed 28% of the time, likely due to the inclusion of its name.

“Elephants are incredibly social, always talking and touching each other — this naming is probably one of the things that underpins their ability to communicate to individuals,” said co-author and Colorado State University ecologist George Wittemyer, who is also a scientific adviser for nonprofit Save the Elephants.

The original article contains 460 words, the summary contains 175 words. Saved 62%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!