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February 19, 2014 - 2:26PM



An elephant calf receives a comforting touch. Photo: Rick Stevens


When life gets stressful, Asian elephants help each other feel better by trumpeting sympathetic noises and using their trunks to touch their friend's - um - private parts, according to new research.

In a study published on Tuesday in the journal PeerJ, animal behaviourists observed 26 captive elephants in a sanctuary in northern Thailand. The researchers said they recorded a number of elephant behaviours that they concluded were specifically intended to comfort distressed herd members.

The behaviours included touching the distressed elephant's genitals with their trunks, putting their trunks in the distressed elephant's mouth, or making a high-pitched "chirping" noise.

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"With their strong social bonds, it's not surprising that elephants show concern for others," said co-author Frans de Waal, a professor of primate behaviour at Emory University in Atlanta.

"Elephants get distressed when they see others in distress, reaching out to calm them down, not unlike the way chimpanzees or humans embrace someone who is upset," de Waal said.

The events that upset the study's pachyderms included dogs walking past, snakes or other animals rustling in the grass, or the presence of an unfriendly elephant.

"When an elephant gets spooked, its ears go out, its tail stands erect or curls out, and it may emit a low-frequency rumble, trumpet or roar," Plotnik said. "The consistency with which elephants responded to a friend in distress was quite remarkable. Rarely did an elephant give a distress call without a response from a friend or group member nearby."

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