Do you think it worth the money and effort to develop an Elephant dictionary?
Last night on 60 minutes they had a story about a lady named, Andrea Turkalo and her observations of elephant sounds, as she has spent 20 years of her life studying the sounds of Elephants in Africa. Ms Turkalo believes elephants actually talk too each other. One part of the story was very compeling. A baby elephant had died from natural causes. The elephants made a funeral procession and they went by the baby elephant one by one making sounds as to express their feelings about the death of the baby elephant.
Ms Turkalo and her Cornell University associates are developing an elephant dictionary based on observations and sounds of elephants . Ms Turkalo stated it will take 15 more years to develop this dictionary.
My question, do you see any practical application to developing an elephant dictionary?
Please check this out before you answer the question.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/.../60minutes/main6045121_page4.shtml
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
10 Answers
Loll..answering my own question. Probably should have asked the question in a different way. Here is the way it should have been asked: Do you think elelphants talk to each other?
Talk, probably not…but communicate, yes.
@RandomMrdan how do separate the two? Their intelligence is unreal. If you watch the video it is so compeling!
Thank you for the answer!
It sounds Interesting to me. Yeah the communicate, but as I understand it, it isn’t all vocal. A study I seen talked of vibrations from the ground and ultra sonics as well. In an African preserve, they had a problem with two juvenile males attacking people and other animals. They didn’t have an elder male to guide them or control the area. The researchers went to another preserve and got an elder male and shipped him to where the juveniles were. As soon as the elder male stepped off the trailer and started moving around, the juveniles calmed down and didn’t act up anymore. The elder male took control through movements and a few vocalizations. Learning about their language would be fascinating.
I saw that story last night. While it was very interesting, I don’t know that I want to learn Elephant anytime now or in the future.
@knitfroggy it is all about if you are an animal lover or not. Just thought the funeral procession part was so revealing that elephants have feelings just like we do!
@cotton101 i am an animal lover. I thought it was sad too! I just made a failed attempt at humor! Sorry!
@knitfroggy loll..naw, probably my slow brain this morning…it is frozen…very very cold in the deep South!
Sounds like an interesting story. As for your question, I don’t think one must find practical applications for every piece of new knowledge—just understanding has it’s own value.
Answer this question 
Composing members:
0
