Performance of African Bush Elephants (Loxodonta Africana) on a Cooperative Task

Several species have demonstrated the ability to cooperate with conspecifics in a lab or zoological setting. The present study sought to replicate previous research (Plotnik et al., 2011) in which pairs of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) had to simultaneously pull on the ends of a rope in order to bring food rewards within reach. The initial study was conducted in a free-contact setting with Asian elephants, whereas the present study was conducted under a protected-contact management program with ZooTampa at Lowry Park’s herd of six African bush elephants (Loxodonta africana). Trials were deemed successful if the sled was pulled to a distance where both elephants were able to access food that was resting on the sled. Overall, 15 different pairings were tested on the rope-pulling cooperative task while released simultaneously (non-delayed trials). All but one pairing quickly learned that a form of cooperation was necessary to complete the task successfully (p < .05). After non-delayed trials were complete, trials were run with a five-second delay interval for one of the two elephants to assess the elephants’ understanding of the role of a partner in the cooperative task (delayed trials). Four elephants were faced with the decision of waiting for their partner to arrive before pulling their end of the rope, of which two juvenile elephants successfully waited for their partner. This study contributes to the literature of cognition across the elephant taxon.