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Advertisement Advertisement Nature Ecology & Evolution * View all journals * Search * Log in * Explore content * About the journal * Publish with us * Subscribe * Sign up for alerts * RSS feed 1. nature 2. nature ecology & evolution 3. research briefing 4. article * Research Briefing * Published: 10 June 2024 African savannah elephants call one another by 'name' Nature Ecology & Evolution (2024)Cite this article * Metrics details Subjects * Animal behaviour * Behavioural ecology Using a combination of machine learning and playback experiments in the field, we find that African savannah elephants address members of their family with individually specific, name-like calls. These 'names' are probably not imitative of the receiver's calls, which is similar to human naming but unlike known phenomena in other animals. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution Access options Access through your institution Access through your institution Change institution Buy or subscribe Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription $29.99 / 30 days cancel any time Learn more Subscribe to this journal Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles $119.00 per year only $9.92 per issue Learn more Buy this article * Purchase on Springer Link * Instant access to full article PDF Buy now Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Additional access options: * Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support Fig. 1: Evidence that elephant calls are specific to individual receivers. [41559_2024_2430_Fig1_HTML] References 1. King, S. L. & Janik, V. M. Bottlenose dolphins can use learned vocal labels to address each other. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 110 , 13216-13221 (2013). An article that shows that bottlenose dolphins address one another by copying the signature whistle of the addressee. Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar 2. Balsby, T. J. S., Momberg, J. V. & Dabelsteen, T. Vocal imitation in parrots allows addressing of specific individuals in a dynamic communication network. PLoS ONE 7, e49747 (2012). A paper revealing that orange-fronted conures (a New World parrot) respond more to contact calls that imitate their own calls. Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar 3. Dingemanse, M., Blasi, D. E., Lupyan, G., Christiansen, M. H. & Monaghan, P. Arbitrariness, iconicity, and systematicity in language. Trends Cogn. Sci. 19, 603-615 (2015). A review of the extent to which the structure of human words is inherently connected to their meaning. Article PubMed Google Scholar 4. Poole, J. H., Tyack, P. L., Stoeger-Horwath, A. S. & Watwood, S. Elephants are capable of vocal learning. Nature 434, 455-456 (2005). This paper provides evidence that African elephants are capable of vocal mimicry. Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar 5. Wittemyer, G., Douglas-Hamilton, I. & Getz, W. M. The socioecology of elephants: analysis of the processes creating multitiered social structures. Anim. Behav. 69, 1357-1371 (2005). This article reveals that female African savannah elephants have a hierarchically tiered, fission-fusion society. Article Google Scholar Download references Additional information Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This is a summary of: Pardo, M. A. et al. African elephants address one another with individually specific name-like calls. Nat. Ecol. Evol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02420-w (2024). Rights and permissions Reprints and permissions About this article Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark Cite this article African savannah elephants call one another by 'name'. Nat Ecol Evol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02430-8 Download citation * Published: 10 June 2024 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02430-8 Share this article Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Access through your institution Buy or subscribe Access through your institution Change institution Buy or subscribe Associated content African elephants address one another with individually specific name-like calls * Michael A. 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