A one-month-old baby elephant named Kibali at Vienna Zoo in Austria has become the focus of a groundbreaking scientific study to understand elephant communication.
Researchers use advanced microphones to capture how Kibali communicates with her mother, Numbi, through audible and inaudible sounds.
Kibali, named after a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is learning to interact with her 20-year-old mother, who has been at the zoo since 2009 and has successfully raised two other calves.
This research, part of a long-term project by the University of Vienna and funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), is spearheaded by Christopher Gorofsky, a 24-year-old master’s student.
He explained that studying elephants in zoos is safer and more practical than in the wild.
Project manager Angela Stöger-Horwath from the Department of Cognitive Biology explained the study’s goals: “We want to learn which sounds are innate and which are learned.
We also want to see if she’s copying her sounds from her mother.” Stöger-Horwath noted that elephants produce various sounds, the most common being a rumble like a truck engine.
This sound’s lowest frequency falls within the infrasound range, which is inaudible to humans but detectable with specialized equipment.
Gorofsky’s thesis, “Early Mother-Child Communication Among African Elephants in the Zoo,” grants him comprehensive access to the elephant park to gather necessary data. According to him, Kibali initially made very few sounds but has increased her vocalizations.
She now makes a distinct squeak when she wants to drink from her mother and uses body language to signal her needs, whether it’s drinking, playing, or responding to her mother’s calls.
This study aims to provide new insights into the early stages of elephant communication, shedding light on how these majestic animals develop complex social interactions from a young age.
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