Elephants use a hose as a flexible shower head

The ability to use tools is not unique to humans. Chimpanzees use sticks as instruments. Tool use is also observed in dolphins, crows and elephants.

A study published in Cell Press’s journal Current Biology shows elephants’ impressive ability to wield a hose like a flexible showerhead. As an interesting side effect, the researchers also discovered that one elephant appeared to know how to turn off the water, possibly as a kind of “prank.”

“Elephants are great at using hoses” says Michael Brecht from the Humboldt University of Berlin, one of the lead authors. “As is often the case with elephants, behavior when using hose tools varies greatly from animal to animal; Elephant Maria is the queen of showering.”

The researchers made a groundbreaking discovery when Lena Kaufmann, a senior author from Humboldt University in Berlin, observed an Asian elephant named Mary showering at the Berlin Zoo and filmed her remarkable behavior. Excited by what she saw, she shared the footage with her colleagues, who were immediately fascinated. This prompted the study’s lead author, Lea Urban, to undertake a detailed analysis of Mary’s skillful handling of the hose.

“I hadn’t thought much about tubes as tools before, but from Lea’s work I found that elephants have an excellent understanding of these tools.” Brecht says.

The team found that Mary showered with impressive precision, deftly controlling the hose with her limbs. She usually grabbed the tip of the hose, turning it into a precise shower head.

To wash her back, she used a lasso technique, swinging the hose from higher up her body. When faced with a larger, heavier hose, Mary wisely decided to use her suitcase instead, demonstrating her remarkable ability to select the most appropriate tool for the job.

The researchers claim that their discoveries provide a new example of targeted tool use. However, what surprised her the most was Anchali’s reaction during Mary’s shower. According to the researchers, the two elephants showed aggressive behavior during the shower. In a moment, Anchali began pulling the hose toward her, away from Mary, twisting and bending it to stop the flow of water.

Although they cannot definitively clarify Anchali’s motives, it appeared as if the elephant was demonstrating some sort of second-order tool use, interfering with a tool that another elephant was using, possibly as an act of sabotage.

“The surprise was certainly Anchali’s curtsy behavior.” Brecht says. “No one would have thought she would be smart enough to pull off such a trick.”

In addition, the researchers held extensive discussions in the laboratory about the effects of Anchali’s actions. They soon noticed that she was using another creative method to disrupt Mary’s shower. This time, Anchali performed what researchers call a trunk stand, effectively stopping the flow of water by placing her trunk on the tube and then lowering her considerable weight onto it.

Brecht notes that the elephants are so well trained that they do not step on tubes to avoid being reprimanded by their keepers. Consequently, he states that they rarely do so. The researchers believe that Anchali may therefore have developed more complex strategies to impede the flow of water during Mary’s showers.

“When Anchali discovered a second behavior that was disrupting the flow of water to Mary, I was pretty convinced that she was trying to sabotage Mary.” said Brecht.

These observations provide striking evidence of elephants’ remarkable manipulative abilities and tool-handling skills, made possible by the unique dexterity of their trunks. The researchers now want to explore what these behaviors in zoos could reveal about elephants in their natural habitats.

“Do elephants play pranks on each other in the wild?” Brecht asked. “When I first saw Anchali’s bend and clamp feature, I burst out laughing. So I wonder if Anchali finds this funny too or is she just being mean?”

Magazine reference:

1. Lea Urban, Rolf Becker, Andreas Ochs, Florian Sicks, Michael Brecht, Lena Valentina Kaufmann. Water hose tool use and showering behavior of Asian elephants. Current Biology, 2024; DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.10.017