Friday, October 19, 2007

Elephants can identify enemies!

For you, OE!

Elephants use smell to identify enemy tribes - Telegraph
The elephant uses smell and colour-coding to pick out its enemies from different African tribes, scientists have found.

It has learned to identify potentially dangerous Maasai warriors by their smell and by their traditional red clothing.
The elephant roams vast areas of Tanzania and Kenya and often come into contact with the Maasai who measure their wealth in terms of the cattle they own. In the past Maasai warriors proved their manhood by killing a lion or by spearing an elephant.

The study, led by Dr Lucy Bates and Professor Richard Byrne of the University of St Andrews, found that the elephant has become remarkably adept at recognising the degree of threat posed by the different tribes.


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