Most people know that elephants are intelligent animals - they are social, they have lots of skills, and they have enormous brains.
Meanwhile, scientists have discovered that some kinds of animals can be even smarter than that - how's that possible?
Let's find out more about their discovery.
New facts about elephant intelligence
Wild Asian elephants are known for their clever problem-solving abilities, and a recent six-month study in Thailand sheds light on their individual differences in innovation.
The research, published in Animal Behaviour, focused on 77 wild Asian elephants in the Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary.
Motion-activated cameras captured the elephants approaching puzzle boxes containing aromatic jackfruit.
The boxes had different compartments that could be opened in various ways, requiring the elephants to figure out the mechanisms independently.
Results showed that some elephants were more innovative and persistent than others.
Those interacting more frequently and persistently were more successful at accessing the food, revealing individual variations in problem-solving skills among wild elephants.
Why it's important to know
Understanding how elephants think and innovate is crucial for their survival in environments affected by human presence and can inform conservation efforts to mitigate human-elephant conflicts caused by habitat loss.
