Over the savanna comes a low rumbling. The sounds seem like random grunts or deep moans, but researchers say some giant animals could be calling each other. African elephants are among the few wild creatures that use—and respond to—individual names.
Scientists say animals with complex social structures and family groups may be more likely to use names. The labels are helpful for keeping the family together—as in, “Hey, Jimbo, stay with the group!”
At a global conference on animal sounds, biologist Mickey Pardo described names for beings or objects as “one of the hallmarks of human language.” He calls the origins of such labels “unclear.”
Yet the Bible gives witness to the earliest namings: creation. God gave names to day, to night, and to the stars. (Genesis 1:5, Psalm 147:4) He tasked Adam with naming animals in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 2) Most gloriously, He calls each human by name at redemption. (Isaiah 43:1)
Still, it’s extremely rare for animals to call each other by name. Dogs can learn to come when their names are called. Baby dolphins invent their own signature whistles, which might be names. Sometimes parrots use names too.
Now scientists report that elephants join this small club of label-using animals.
Elephant rumbles include sounds that are below the range of human hearing. Scientists still don’t know which part of the sounds contains the name. They turned to AI to detect when elephants call out monikers.
Researchers at two Kenyan parks followed elephants. From jeeps, the researchers observed which animals called out and which responded. Example calls included a mother’s plea to her calf or a matriarch’s appeal to a straggler that later rejoined the family group.
A computer program searched the elephant noises. Analyzing only audio data, AI predicted the elephant being addressed 28% of the time. Scientists guess the prediction is due to use of the animal’s name.
Study results appeared in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. “Just like humans, elephants use names but probably don’t use names in the majority of utterances, so we wouldn’t expect 100%,” says Pardo, a study author.
Researchers tested their results. They played the recordings to individual elephants. The animals responded to those that contained their names with flapping ears and lifted trunks. Sometimes elephants entirely ignored vocalizations addressed to others in their group.
“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,” says study co-author George Wittemyer. “We just cracked open the door a bit to the elephant mind.”
Why? Names are a gift from the Creator, who named parts of His creation and knows it all personally. When His creatures give names, they are reflecting something of His character.
