McCombShannonetal_2014_copy.pdf (900.61 kB)
Elephants can determine ethnicity, gender, and age from acoustic cues in human voices
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 18:06 authored by Karen Mccomb, Graeme Shannon, Katito N Sayialel, Cynthia MossAnimals can accrue direct fitness benefits by accurately classifying predatory threat according to the species of predator and the magnitude of risk associated with an encounter. Human predators present a particularly interesting cognitive challenge, as it is typically the case that different human subgroups pose radically different levels of danger to animals living around them. Although a number of prey species have proved able to discriminate between certain human categories on the basis of visual and olfactory cues, vocalizations potentially provide a much richer source of information. We now use controlled playback experiments to investigate whether family groups of free-ranging African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Amboseli National Park, Kenya can use acoustic characteristics of speech to make functionally relevant distinctions between human subcategories differing not only in ethnicity but also in sex and age. Our results demonstrate that elephants can reliably discriminate between two different ethnic groups that differ in the level of threat they represent, significantly increasing their probability of defensive bunching and investigative smelling following playbacks of Maasai voices. Moreover, these responses were specific to the sex and age of Maasai presented, with the voices of Maasai women and boys, subcategories that would generally pose little threat, significantly less likely to produce these behavioral responses. Considering the long history and often pervasive predatory threat associated with humans across the globe, it is likely that abilities to precisely identify dangerous subcategories of humans on the basis of subtle voice characteristics could have been selected for in other cognitively advanced animal species.
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Publication status
- Published
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- Published version
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesISSN
0027-8424Publisher
National Academy of SciencesExternal DOI
Issue
14Volume
111Page range
5433-5438Department affiliated with
- Psychology Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2014-08-13First Open Access (FOA) Date
2016-03-22First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2017-03-07Usage metrics
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