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Cited by 12Primate Behavior and EcologyAnimal Behavior and Welfare StudiesWildlife Ecology and Conservation

Asian elephants acquire inaccessible food by blowing

Mizuno, Kaori, Irie, Naoko, Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, Mariko, Kutsukake, Nobuyuki·2016·Animal Cognition
DOI 10.1007/s10071-015-0929-2
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Abstract

Many animals acquire otherwise inaccessible food with the aid of sticks and occasionally water. As an exception, some reports suggest that elephants manipulate breathing through their trunks to acquire inaccessible food. Here, we report on two female Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in Kamine Zoo, Japan, who regularly blew to drive food within their reach. We experimentally investigated this behaviour by placing foods in inaccessible places. The elephants blew the food until it came within accessible range. Once the food was within range, the elephants were increasingly less likely to blow as the distance to the food became shorter. One subject manipulated her blowing duration based on food distance: longer when the food was distant. These results suggest that the elephants used their breath to achieve goals: that is, they used it not only to retrieve the food but also to fine-tune the food position for easy grasping. We also observed individual differences in the elephants' aptitude for this technique, which altered the efficiency of food acquisition. Thus, we added a new example of spontaneous behaviour for achieving a goal in animals. The use of breath to drive food is probably unique to elephants, with their dexterous trunks and familiarity with manipulating the act of blowing, which is commonly employed for self-comfort and acoustic communication.

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  • Asian elephants are able to problem-solve by either using their trunks to blow air on the far side of a food item so that it moves within reach or by sucking or blowing through their trunks into a tube to obtain a food reward placed in the center of the tube.

    “Asian elephants are also able to problem-solve by either using their trunks to blow air on the far side of a food item so that it moves within reach (Mizuno et al., 2016) or by sucking or blowing through their trunks into a tube to obtain a food reward placed in the center of the tube (Nissani, 2004).”

    From Do elephants really never forget? What we know about elephant memory and a call for further investigation (2025) · cites this paper as Mizuno et al., 2016

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Authors
Mizuno, K., Irie, N., Hiraiwa-Hasegawa, M., & Kutsukake, N.
Affiliations
The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI (JP)
Corresponding author
Mizuno, Kaori
ORCID
Venue
Animal Cognition
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2015-11-05
Volume
19
Issue
1
Pages
215-222
ISSN
  • 1435-9448 (ISSN-L)
  • 1435-9456
DOI
10.1007/s10071-015-0929-2
OpenAlex
W2101159248
Cited by
12
References
32
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2
FWCI
2.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • Animal Cognition (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
MEXT (25711025)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
  • Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Keywords
Asian elephant, food procurement, goal-directed behavior, individual differences, acoustic communication
MeSH terms
Animals, Animals, Zoo, Elephants, Female, Problem Solving, Exhalation

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