Elephants can pause, resist an impulse, and pick the better plan

Elephants can pause before acting and override an impulsive choice, according to research published in the journal PLOS One and conducted at the National Elephant Institute in Thailand. It is the first documented evidence of inhibitory control in the species, the ability to resist an easy but useless urge in favor of a better plan. Researchers gave Asian elephants a transparent box with fruit visible and smellable inside, plus a small opening on the side. The animals could see the food, but they had learned the direct route led nowhere. So they went around. When the box was rotated, they first reached for the old opening, then corrected. Older elephants took longer to adjust, possibly a sign of cognitive decline with age. "This ability may be important for elephants' problem-solving," said study co-author Sydney Hope of Hunter College. The same team has shown elephants recognize themselves in mirrors and console distressed companions.