A fascinating new insight into elephant communication has been discovered.
Researchers from Stanford University found that a group of males will harmonise a rumbling sound, from one to the next, to signal that it's time for everyone to move on. They liken it to the way a barbershop quartet builds a chorus from one voice to the next.
Extensive analysis of elephant sounds collected over 12 years found that when a group of animals were in the one spot, for example, drinking at a watering hole, a senior elephant would make this rumbling sound, and one by one the others would add their own, in a different harmony, all overlapping until every individual got the message. Then, with everyone having acknowledged the "let's go" message, would make a coordinated move from the watering hole.
However, the researchers say that there's more to these endearing rumble-alongs than just a musical show of unity. It demonstrates that the gathered males have, much like the females in a herd, a power structure, with the dominant 'elder' of the group initiating the chorus.
In their research, the scientists found that the first elephant to sing out would have his neighbour join in, with each elephant joining the call just before the preceding rumble had tapered off. This formed a sort of chain-reaction harmony traveling through the group until it reached the last animal.
“These calls show us that there’s much more going on within their vocal communication than has previously been known,” said Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell, lead author of the study.
It follows on from the groundbreaking discovery that elephants have names for each other, and unlocks crucial new understandings about the role that males play in the tight social network of herds.
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