Focus on British Investment Immigration and the development of technology in the UK: According to reports, scientists conducted a 'pointing test' on animals and found that this is a rare talent for animals. Even our close relatives, such as chimpanzees, seem to struggle with understanding 'pointing'. However, research shows that elephants may be an exception.
According to reports, Richard W. Byrne, a biologist at the University of St Andrews in the UK, and his student Anna Smet, stated that they found elephants seem to understand pointing. They tested 11 elephants and discovered that the social intelligence of elephants can rival that of humans in certain aspects.
Smet placed two buckets behind a barrier and put fruit in one of the buckets, but the elephants did not see which bucket she placed the fruit in.
She then brought the buckets out from behind the barrier, stood between the buckets, and pointed to the bucket containing the fruit. The handler then led the elephants to the buckets, and Smet began to observe which bucket the elephants first extended their trunks into.
After two months, the results showed that the elephants chose the bucket with the fruit 67.5% of the time.
Smet found that whether she pointed with her arm or finger, the elephants understood her indication. When she simply stood between the buckets without any indication, the elephants would choose randomly.
The research results were published in the journal Current Biology.
