Elephants have names for each other.
Elephants call each other by name
A new study has revealed that the land mammals are the first non-human animals that are known to use names that do not involve imitation.
For the research, a team of international experts used an artificial intelligence algorithm to analyse calls from two wild herds of African savanna elephants in Kenya.
They were able to identify 469 distinct calls and found that names were called out over long distances and when adults were addressing their young.
Michael Pardo, the lead author of the study at Colorado State University, said: "(The research) not only shows that elephants use specific vocalisations for each individual, but that they recognise and react to a call addressed to them while ignoring those addressed to others.
"This indicates that elephants can determine whether a call was intended for them just by hearing the call, even when out of its original context."