Study
African elephants address one another with individually specific name-like calls
Pardo, Michael A.; Fristrup, Kurt; Lolchuragi, David S.; Poole, Joyce H.; Wittemyer, George
Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2024
Hundreds of rumbles from wild elephants in Samburu and Amboseli were analysed with a machine-learning model trained to predict the intended receiver from acoustic structure alone. Playback tests then presented individuals with calls originally addressed to them and calls addressed to others.
- Studied in
- Loxodonta africana
- Sample size
- 469 recorded calls from wild elephants in Kenya, plus 17 playback subjects
The model identified intended receivers better than chance, and elephants responded more strongly and more quickly to calls originally addressed to them.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Elephants use individually specific, learned vocal labels for one another — functionally comparable to names, and not simply imitations of the receiver's own call.
How NatureHQ reads it
The reason this attracted so much attention is the contrast with dolphins and parrots, which address each other by copying the other's signature call. Here the label appears not to be an imitation, which would make it arbitrary — closer to how a human name works. It is recent, from two populations, and the acoustic analysis carries real uncertainty; it is a strong new finding rather than a settled one, and it is exactly the kind of result that should be revisited as replications appear.
- Model accuracy was above chance but far from perfect.
- Small playback sample.
- Two Kenyan populations; the behaviour has not been tested elsewhere.
- Recent, with independent replication still to come.
Playing an elephant a call that was meant for a different elephant
Do elephant rumbles contain something specific to the individual being addressed, and do elephants themselves respond to it?
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Animal communication
Some animal calls point at specific things in the world, not just at how the caller feels
Elephants
Elephants may address each other with something like names
Elephants
Elephants can learn to produce sounds they have heard, including ones no elephant makes
Elephants
African elephants appear to address particular individuals with calls specific to that animal — and unlike dolphins, they do not do it by imitating the animal they are calling.
How scientists listen to animals
Machine learning is very good at working out who made a sound and what kind of sound it is. It has no route to what the sound means.
Published by: Nature PortfolioPublished in a Nature Portfolio journal.
doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02420-w
Checked against Crossref and OpenAlex on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-08-09.