Elephants Can Solve Problems Insightfully

Sample size: 3 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Preston Foerder, Marie Galloway, Tony Barthel, Donald E. Moore III, Diana Reiss

Primary Institution: The Graduate Center, The City University of New York

Can Asian elephants demonstrate insightful problem solving by using tools to obtain food?

The study found that an Asian elephant was capable of insightful problem solving by using a cube as a tool to reach food.

The elephant used a cube to stand on and reach food that was otherwise out of reach.
Kandula, the male elephant, demonstrated behavioral flexibility by using the cube in various ways to obtain food.
The study suggests that previous failures to observe insightful problem solving in elephants may be due to task design rather than cognitive ability.

This study shows that elephants can think creatively to solve problems, just like humans do.

The study involved testing three Asian elephants in various experiments to see if they could use tools to reach food placed out of their reach.

The study was limited to a small sample size of three elephants and specific experimental conditions.

The participants included two adult female elephants aged 33 and 61, and one juvenile male elephant aged 7.

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