About the Brain of an Elephant
The brain of an elephant has been the subject of speculation and study for decades. Because of its large size and seemingly exotic nature, elephants have often been considered anomalies in the animal world. Further study revealed, however, that the animal's brain is highly developed, even rivaling human brain in some aspects.
Features
Elephants rank in the top 10 most intelligent animals in the world. This is mainly due to their capacity for learning and adaptation. The brain of an elephant develops as it grows, incorporating experiences and emotions as part of their development.
This high development is responsible for purposive behavior in elephants and may be the reason why elephants seem to have a very selective but lasting memory. This includes the ability to recognize other elephants even after years of separation and the ability to remember places and images, as exemplified by the existence of elephant graveyards.
Size
The weight of an elephant's brain varies between 3.6 and 5.4 kg., with the largest size going to a bull African elephant. As in the case of humans, elephant brains grow and develop as the animal gets older, from a 35 percent total mass at birth to full size during the teenage years.
The olfactory lobe (which controls the sense of small) and the temporal lobes (connected to hearing) of the brain are particularly developed in elephants, making them extremely sensitive to their environments. The cerebellum, connected to the use of their own trunk, is another highly developed area of the brain of elephants.
Misconceptions
Up until a few decades ago, scientists believe that the size of the brain had much to do with the intelligence of the animal. Traditionally, this meant that males were accepted as more intelligent than females, because their brain size is bigger.
When it comes to elephants, however, it seems that females (which have a smaller brain size) are actually smarter. This may be due to the fact that females grow and develop in herds, while males are often solitary. The interaction helps animals learn from one another and improves memory and social skills.
Geography
There doesn't seem to be any difference in the intelligence level between African and Asian elephants, even though the size of the brain is much larger in the African species.
Expert Insight
Elephants are able to communicate using infrasounds, which are inaudible to humans. Vibrations caused by infrasounds directly affect the brain, communicating signals of distress, fear or excitement much more clearly than the characteristic trumpeting.
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