大象的記憶力驚人并不僅僅是傳說(shuō)，近期就有科學(xué)家通過(guò)實(shí)驗(yàn)證明大象的記憶力非常好,，尤其是一些涉及到危險(xiǎn)情況的記憶,，可能更會(huì)使它們“終身難忘”。
據(jù)國(guó)外媒體報(bào)道,，一般來(lái)講,，成年的大象沒(méi)有被捕食的危險(xiǎn) 只有那些脫離隊(duì)伍的小象和體弱的老象才有被捕食的危險(xiǎn)。研究非洲大象的科學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn),，年老的大象在面對(duì)一些危險(xiǎn)情況時(shí)往往會(huì)知道怎樣去處理,，因?yàn)樗鼈冎霸?jīng)遇到過(guò)類似的情況，記得該如何應(yīng)對(duì),。
研究人員通過(guò)揚(yáng)聲器播放獅子的吼聲來(lái)模擬它們的存在,，同時(shí)觀察那些年長(zhǎng)的大象會(huì)對(duì)這些可能對(duì)它們有威脅的狀況作出一些什么反應(yīng)。蘇塞克斯大學(xué)的凱倫-麥庫(kù)姆(Karen McComb)博士表示,，一些微妙的現(xiàn)象體現(xiàn)出在社會(huì)性哺乳動(dòng)物群體中,，較長(zhǎng)壽命所獲得的經(jīng)驗(yàn)對(duì)其群體發(fā)展的重要性。
研究人員實(shí)驗(yàn)對(duì)象是一些在一起生活,，尋找食物和照顧后代的象群,。當(dāng)播放雄獅的吼聲時(shí)，最年長(zhǎng)的大象會(huì)更專注的聆聽(tīng),，并且?guī)ьI(lǐng)群體形成更好的防御態(tài)勢(shì)以防止襲擊的發(fā)生,。研究人員稱：“我們餓工作提供了一個(gè)明顯的證據(jù)，直接證明年老的象群領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者在面對(duì)生存挑戰(zhàn)時(shí),，能夠做出更好的決策帶領(lǐng)群體避免危險(xiǎn),。”
之前有研究稱，那些擁有相對(duì)于體型來(lái)講更大一些大腦的獵物,，更有可能躲避開捕獵者,，因?yàn)樗鼈兡軌蚋鶕?jù)具體的情況，更有效地調(diào)整自己的行為和反應(yīng),。而此項(xiàng)研究顯示出大象長(zhǎng)期積累的記憶知識(shí)能幫助其在關(guān)鍵時(shí)刻做出更好的抉擇,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原文出處：
Proc. R. Soc. B doi: 10.1098/rspb.2011.0168
Leadership in elephants: the adaptive value of age
Karen McComb1,*, Graeme Shannon1,4,*?, Sarah M. Durant2, Katito Sayialel3, Rob Slotow4, Joyce Poole3,5 and Cynthia Moss3
The value of age is well recognized in human societies, where older individuals often emerge as leaders in tasks requiring specialized knowledge, but what part do such individuals play in other social species? Despite growing interest in how effective leadership might be achieved in animal social systems, the specific role that older leaders may play in decision-making has rarely been experimentally investigated. Here, we use a novel playback paradigm to demonstrate that in African elephants (Loxodonta africana), age affects the ability of matriarchs to make ecologically relevant decisions in a domain critical to survival—the assessment of predatory threat. While groups consistently adjust their defensive behaviour to the greater threat of three roaring lions versus one, families with younger matriarchs typically under-react to roars from male lions despite the severe danger they represent. Sensitivity to this key threat increases with matriarch age and is greatest for the oldest matriarchs, who are likely to have accumulated the most experience. Our study provides the first empirical evidence that individuals within a social group may derive significant benefits from the influence of an older leader because of their enhanced ability to make crucial decisions about predatory threat, generating important insights into selection for longevity in cognitively advanced social mammals.
