Thinking with their trunks: elephants use smell but not sound to locate food and exclude nonrewarding alternatives

摘要: The two-way object choice paradigm has been used extensively in studies of animal cognition. involves presenting two options, one rewarding and nonrewarding, to a subject allowing it make between the two, potentially by exploiting specific cues provided experimenter. Using paradigm, we tested first whether Asian elephants, Elephas maximus, could use auditory and/or olfactory find food. While elephants were unable locate hidden food following an cue, they capable finding when cue was olfactory. second part study involved providing subjects with only information about option before them two. In trials which allowed investigate nonrewarding option, made choices exclusion, either inferring location or simply avoiding one. Elephants thus relied on olfaction exclude locations, but failed (when presented) do same. This represents important evidence using their sense smell cognitive task.