Do Elephants Never Forget?

Elephants are incredible creatures. They might not have the most remarkable eyesight among all the other animals, still known for never forgetting a face once they see it. They do have a giant structure and indeed contain enormous sized brains, by which it can be concluded that their brain size aids their intricate pattern of communication and memory.

These marvellous creatures have the potential to remember a large number of commands. Elephants have a ‘temporal lobe’ region- solely responsible for developing robust abilities to accumulate crucial survival data such as differentiating between a friend and a foe, the place where they can find food and water, etc.

They are also best known for recognizing humans and individuals from their spices that might be separated from them for years.

It is not authentic to acclaim that all elephants never forget about anything. It is undoubtedly proven and believed that elephants have incredible memories. However, it is also true that elephants can forget things from time to time.

Matriarchs are the African elephants who have the most potent memory among all group of elephants. They often lead herds and are also known as Grandma elephants.

The grandma elephants who can live up to 60 years are eligible to recognize and react after recalling any of their herd members, even after two years of death. These grandma elephants also lead the way for their family members in the scenarios like droughts by recalling the detailed maps that are already acquired into their mind. These elephants can remember the span of hundreds of kilometres for a very long period.

Some scientists acclaim that elephants are as smart as the other species of the animal kingdom, including chimpanzees and dolphins. Elephants can even hold a grudge against one another, especially those who have hurt them in the past.

Since then, it was proven that elephants are smart enough and have substantial intelligence, including self-awareness, grief, mimicry, play, use of tools and art (creating abstract art by holding a brush through their trunk), and altruism.

Apart from being intelligent, elephants are known for demonstrating their selfless concern for the welfare of others. They are always willing to help other species, including humans, whenever they are in distress.