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Elephants Ask for a Helping Trunk

大象搭配,干活不累

Elephants are smart, social animals.And now we know that they can organize themselves into teams to accomplish tasks.

大象是聪明的群居动物。我们还知道它们可以自己组成团队来完成任务。

A research team that included renowned primatologist Franz de Waal taught 12 Thai elephants—who already work with human trainers called mahouts—to get a bowl of food by pulling a rope attached to an out-of-reach table.

由知名灵长类动物学家Franz de Waal等人组成的研究小组,找到十二头已被驯象师训练过的泰国大象,让它们学着拉一条系在远处桌子上的绳子来获取一碗食物。

Then the scientists threaded the rope so that it would take two elephants, pulling both ends at the same time, to move the table.If one yanked an end without its helpmate doing so, no reward.

之后科学家将绳子串起来,这样就需要两头大象同时拉起绳子尾端来移动桌子。如果其中之一猛拉绳子一端,而它的队友并没这么做,就不能得到食物。

The pachyderms were paired up.Only if they pulled together could they get the food.The elephants tried the task when they were released simultaneously or at staggered times.Even when the release was staggered, an elephant quickly learned that it had to wait for its partner to come and cooperate to get the food.This finding was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Elephants are thus on par with apes for fast learning of deliberate cooperation with a partner.

两头大象为一组,只有一起拉绳子,它们才能得到食物。当它们被同时或交错地释放出来时,它们尝试去完成任务。即使是交错释放出来,它们也会立刻意识到需要等待搭档的到来,通过合作才能得到食物。这一发现发表在《美国国家科学院院刊》上。所以,大象通过思考进行合作的快速学习能力可以与猿类相媲美。

When grouped, individuals also remembered which of the others was their task partner.Because an elephant never forgets…who helped it rope a meal.

当它们群聚时,它们依旧记得谁是自己的任务伙伴。因为大象永远不会忘记谁帮它获得了一顿美餐。

—Cynthia Graber

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