Elephant Communication
Dublin Zoo’s elephants have been the subject of much scrutiny since the arrival of Bernhardine, Yasmin and Anak from Rotterdam in 2006 and the subsequent births in 2007 and 2008 of calves Asha and Budi. It is unlikely though that anyone – apart from their keepers – has watched the group quite as closely as Meike Artelt from the University of Vienna who recently spent two weeks amongst the bamboo on the Kaziranga Forest Trail, studying their every move.
Meike has been involved in the study of vocal communication in Asian elephants for some years – mostly in German zoos. Her research is eagerly sought by zoos eager for ever better understanding of the complex animals in their care and to ensure that they are content, healthy and leading enriched and fulfilled lives.
“There has been a great deal of research done with communications in African elephants but few people have done studies on the Asian populations of elephants – and especially those in zoos,” says Meike during a rare break from her recording schedule. “Elephants rely on a complex communication system - at the root of it is a common language. Some elephants though make sounds that are unique to them - like a signature. But to complicate matters further - a sound might mean something completely different depending on what they are doing non-vocally.”
Of course, the trumpet call is most often associated with the elephant but they can also rumble, chirp, squeak, cry, scream, roar, snort and groan. “Dublin Zoo’s mature female elephants make a squeaking noise when they are excited, that I haven’t heard anywhere else before – that was a highlight,” says Meike.
A fairly recent discovery is that some elephant language exists in a low frequency range known as infrasound that humans can't even hear – used in the wild to communicate between one and 10km depending on conditions.
The work is time consuming and arduous as Meike spends hours out in the elephant habitat recording every sound and noting what the animals were doing at that point. She feels that every minute is worthwhile as her efforts are strongly valued by zoos and she hopes her work will also eventually
contribute to helping wild elephants live more harmoniously with humans.
When we can understand the complex communications system a little better we may also be able to formulate early warning systems, or even play back certain sounds to deter herds from entering villages or from trampling crops,” she says.
So what conclusions did Meike draw about Dublin’s iconic elephants?
“They are the quietest herd I have studied so far. This is a good sign because it means they are a closely bonded, small, happy and relaxed family unit who communicate more in nonverbal ways. They seem to experience little or no stress and so the panic and scared sounds are not in their repertoire. ”