At the Berlin Zoo, an Asian elephant named Mary amazed researchers by demonstrating an exceptional ability to use a hose to shower herself. Mary, 50 years old and a resident of the zoo since 1987, was observed grabbing the snake with her trunk to wash its head, ears, back and legs. This behavior was not taught by her caregivers, which made it particularly surprising because Mary “had never had an example of this behavior.”
Mary holds the hose just behind the end to use it as a stiff shower head when spraying her sides. To reach her back, she takes the hose further from the tip and swings it to utilize the tool’s flexibility, similar to a lasso. Researchers noted that “to spray her sides, Mary usually grabs the hose just behind the opening with her trunk,” demonstrating her adaptability and precision in using the tool. She coordinates the hose with her limbs, often lifting her hind legs so the water can reach all parts of her body. Mary “applies different strategies depending on the part of her body she is targeting,” which emphasizes her problem-solving skills.
The elephant’s ability to manipulate the snake varies depending on its size. When Mary was given the normal 24 millimeter diameter zoo hose, Mary showered almost exclusively with it. However, when she got a thicker 32 millimeter hose, she used her trunk more than the hose, and with the smallest 13 millimeter hose she spent most of her time not showering at all. The researchers concluded that Mary “adapts her showering behavior to the hose presented to her,” demonstrating her adaptability in using the resources available.
The remarkable behavior caught the attention of researchers at Humboldt University in Berlin. Biologist Lena Kaufmann, a PhD student in Dr. Michael Brecht, initially noticed Mary’s showering skills while observing the elephants during the zookeepers’ morning rounds. Kaufmann quickly recorded the observation on her phone and shared it with her colleagues, leading to further analysis by co-author Lea Urban. Dr. Brecht, head of the laboratory, expressed his joy, saying, “I actually had a grin on my face all day because I thought it was so funny.”
While Mary’s advanced tool use was impressive, researchers were even more amazed by the behavior of another elephant at the zoo, a younger female named Anchali. Anchali began communicating with Mary during her shower sessions by trying to disrupt the flow of water. She exhibited complex behavior, such as lifting, bending, and squeezing the hose with her trunk to kink it, effectively cutting off the water supply to Mary. In one instance, Anchali performed a “trunk position,” where she placed her trunk on the hose and lowered her body onto it to stop the flow of water.
The researchers noted that Anchali’s effectiveness at these maneuvers increased over time as she became better at the complicated task, stopping the flow for longer and longer periods. This led to discussions among the research team as to whether Anchali’s behavior was playful, mischievous or a deliberate act of sabotage. Dr. Brecht noted, “When Anchali came up with a second behavior that interrupted the flow of water to Mary, I was convinced she was trying to sabotage her.”
Anchali’s actions raised questions about the elephants’ social interactions and cognitive skills. The researchers wondered if Anchali was fooling Mary or if there were deeper social dynamics at play. “Do elephants play tricks on each other in the wild?” mused Doctor Brecht. “When I first saw Anchali’s kink and clamp, I burst out laughing.” Biologist Kaufmann added: “It cannot be clearly answered whether Anchali’s purpose was to hold back the water.”
Elephant trunks contain an estimated 150,000 muscle units and may be “the most sensitive organ in mammals,” allowing elephants to handle objects with precision comparable to that of the human hand. This sensitivity allows them to perform tasks such as picking up a grain of rice or loosening a screw.
The observations at the Berlin Zoo provide new insights into the cognitive skills and social behavior of elephants. Although tool use has been previously documented in elephants, the use of a hose – a flexible man-made object with flowing water – as a tool is exceptionally complex. Kaufmann noted that “a water hose is an ‘exceptionally complex device’ because it is flexible, can extend, and allows water to flow through it.”
Stay up to date with the latest news!
Subscribe to the Jerusalem Post newsletter
“The research reiterates the idea that elephants exhibit highly sophisticated trunking behavior,” says Dr. Brecht. “Does she think it’s funny? I think it’s really funny, but we really don’t know. Maybe she’s just trying to be mean,” he added.
While Mary’s use of the snake demonstrates her adaptability and intelligence, Anchali’s behavior adds another layer of complexity. The team cannot be completely certain of Anchali’s intentions, but they suspect that she may have exhibited some form of second-order behavior in tool use. “It appeared that she was exhibiting some type of secondary tool-use behavior, possibly as an act of sabotage,” the researchers noted.
Keepers at the zoo have noted that Mary is a very dominant elephant and often becomes defensive of the snake, sometimes hitting Anchali with her trunk. “She doesn’t like the little ones very much and gets irritated easily,” Kaufmann said. This tension could contribute to Anchali’s attempts to interfere with Mary’s showering. The researchers remain intrigued by whether Anchali’s behavior is deliberately mischievous or simply playful.
The team also noticed that Mary has a side preference when manipulating the hose, focusing more on her left body while showering with the hose, despite being a ‘left romper’. This lateralization is similar to how people are left or right handed. Such observations contribute to the understanding of individual differences in animal behavior.
Sources: ORF Science, The New York Times, Die Zeit, Science Daily, The Independent, RPP Noticias, Diario de Sevilla, BBC Newsround, Scienze Notizie, Popular Science, The Guardian, The Sun, The Scottish Sun, IFLScience, Le Monde ( Science), ABC News Australia, New Scientist, Wow TV, Die Welt, Spektrum der Wissenschaft
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq
Leave a Reply