This is a special video essay on the speculative evolution of sapient elephants and how they might replace us in the future. I switch between the words “intelligent”, “sentient”, and “sapient” a lot because it’s easy to understand what I’m talking about in the context of the video.
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Elephant fact sources:
Rizzolo, J. B., & Bradshaw, G. A. Prevalence and Patterns of Complex PTSD in Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus). Asian Elephants in Culture and Nature, 291–297. 2016.Bradshaw, G. A., Schore, A. N., Brown, J. L., Poole, J. H., & Moss, C. J. Elephant breakdown. Nature, 433(7028), 807-807. 2005.
African elephants address one another with individually specific calls Michael A. Pardo, Kurt Fristrup, David S. Lolchuragi, Joyce Poole, Petter Granli, Cynthia Moss, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, George Wittemyer
The elephant brain in numbers. Suzana Herculano-Houzel,Kamilla Avelino-de-Souza,Kleber Neves,Jairo Porfírio,Débora Messeder,Larissa Mattos Feijó, José Maldonado, and Paul R. Manger
Lee, P.C., Fishlock, V., Webber, C.E. and Moss, C.J. The Reproductive Advantages of a Long Life: Longevity and Senescence in Wild Female African Elephants. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 70, 337-345. 2016.
Hunninck, L., Ringstad, I.H., Jackson, C.R., May, R., Fossøy, F., Uiseb, K., Killian, W., Palme, R. and Røskaft, E. (2017) Being Stressed Outside the Park—Conservation of African Elephants.
Remmers, W., Gameiro, J., Schaberl, I. and Clausnitzer, V. (2017) Elephant ( Loxodonta africana) Footprints as Habitat for Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Communities in Kibale National Park, South-West Uganda. African Journal of Ecology, 55, 342-351.
Asner, G.P., Vaughn, N., Smit, I.P. and Levick, S. Ecosystem-Scale Effects of Megafauna in African Savannas.Ecography 39, 240-252. 2016.
Where sociality and relatedness diverge: the genetic basis for hierarchical social organization in African elephants. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. July 2009.
Acknowledging the Relevance of Elephant Sensory Perception to Human–Elephant Conflict Mitigation. Robbie Ball, Sarah L. Jacobson Matthew S. Rudolph Miranda Trapani, and Joshua M. Plotnik. 2022.
Plotnik J.M., Lair R., Suphachoksahakun W., De Waal F.B. Elephants Know When They Need a Helping Trunk in a Cooperative Task. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 2011.
Li L.-L., Plotnik J.M., Xia S.-W., Meaux E., Quan R.-C. Cooperating Elephants Mitigate Competition until the Stakes Get Too High. PLoS Biol. 2021.
Jacobson S.L., Plotnik J.M. The Importance of Sensory Perception in an Elephant’s Cognitive World. Comp. Cogn. Behav. Rev. 2020.
Campos-Arceiz A., Blake S. Megagardeners of the Forest–the Role of Elephants in Seed Dispersal. Acta Oecol. 2011.
Mortimer B., Walker J.A., Lolchuragi D.S., Reinwald M., Daballen D. Noise Matters: Elephants Show Risk-Avoidance Behaviour in Response to Human-Generated Seismic Cues. Proc. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci. 2021.
Nevo O., Schmitt M.H., Ayasse M., Valenta K. Sweet Tooth: Elephants Detect Fruit Sugar Levels Based on Scent Alone. Ecol. Evol. 2020.
Large brains and cognition: where do elephants fit in? Benjamin L Hart et al. Neurosci Biobehav Rev.2008.
Wittemyer G., Douglas-Hamilton I., Getz W.M. The Socioecology of Elephants: Analysis of the Processes Creating Multitiered Social Structures. Anim. Behav. 2005.
Hedwig D., DeBellis M., Wrege P.H. Not so Far: Attenuation of Low-Frequency Vocalizations in a Rainforest Environment Suggests Limited Acoustic Mediation of Social Interaction in African Forest Elephants. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 2018.
Asner, G.P., Vaughn, N., Smit, I.P. and Levick, S. Ecosystem-Scale Effects of Megafauna in African Savannas. Ecography. 2016.
Tsalyuk, M., Kilian, W., Reineking, B. and Getz, W.M. Temporal Variation in Resource Selection of African Elephants Follows Long-Term Variability in Re-source Availability. Ecological Monographs. 2019.
Stommel, C., Hofer, H., Grobbel, M. and East, M.L. Large Mammals in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania, Dig for Water When Water Stops Flowing and Water Bacterial Load Increases. Mammalian Biology. 2016.
Kalumanga, E., Mpanduji, D.G. and Cousins, S.A. Geophagic Termite Mounds as One of the Resources for African Elephants in Ugalla Game Reserve, Western Tanzania. African Journal of Ecology. 2017.
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