Posthuman Blues

Not so Dumbo - elephant intelligence

"For the first time, remote-control cameras disguised as dung-heaps have infiltrated African elephant herds. Moving slowly across the plains, the 'dungcams' have shot hundreds of hours of elephant footage of the most intimate variety. On watching the footage, you start to believe that elephants may indeed be as intelligent as the great apes. 'The communication and understanding is so evident when you get inside the herd,' says film-maker John Downer. 'I know of no other species, apart from ourselves, who gather to greet a newborn and equally appear to mourn their dead relatives.'"