Do Asian elephants plan for mutually-exclusive outcomes?

ABSTRACT: The ability to prepare for mutually-exclusive outcomes is critical for future planning. Recently, the thought that this ability may be unique to humans has been questioned. Even if non-human animals cannot individually plan for mutually-exclusive outcomes, groups of individuals may be able to coordinate their behavior to do so collectively. Here, we tested 12 Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), both individually and in pairs, using a forked tube task-adapted from one used with children and non-human apes-where a food reward is dropped down a tube and exits from one of two openings. The consistent, simultaneous covering of both openings to obtain the reward is evidence of an understanding of mutually-exclusive outcomes. One elephant-Nammei-learned to manipulate her trunk in a scooping motion

SUBMITTER: Hope SF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12612009 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature