The statement an elephant never forgets has been scientifically proven to be true again and again.

Although many people are opposed to the circus using elephants to entertain the audience the fact that the elephants can be trained is another example of how the statement an elephant never forgets is true.

While some may argue that training an elephant is not the same as the statement an elephant never forgets but the two are certainly linked. If a trainer gives an elephant a treat every time he/she performs correctly the elephant will indeed remember and continue to perform for the treat.

~ Scientific Evidence ~

"In humans and other mammals, the hippocampus is the brain structure largely responsible for memory formation." An MRI scan performed on an elephant's brain showed that "The elephant has an unusually large hippocampus." In comparison it is relatively only slightly smaller than that of a human. While it appears to be the same size as the apes and the dolphins; which are already regarded as highly intelligent animals. For a more detailed report and to view the MRI picture for yourself visit the
website www.smart-kit.com.

Female elephants have the ability to know where each member of the family is when walking in herds; urine from a younger family member that was at the back of the herd was placed in the trail ahead of the elephants and when the first female reached the spot she stopped and seemed confused, knowing that, the elephant was in the back of the herd. For the complete story visit
www.timesonline.com/uk

Elephants are also known to recognize people in zoos even if they have not seen them for over a year. As well as recognizing other elephants that left the family group to join another after mating, several years can pass and the elephants will still "know" each other. This is measured by the brain activity at the time of the meeting.

Elephants are known as intelligent animals anyway, as they show signs of grief when one of their family members dies and if an elephant is taken hundreds of miles away from the site it can find its way back!
Taking into consideration that elephants have very poor eyesight and depend on their sense of smell for almost everything it is not unbelievable that elephants do have an advanced memory and can recall other elephants, people, and even places.

Sources
www.awf.com
www.elephants-info.com

Learn more about this author, Tammy L Mahan.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about The truth about the statement an elephant never forgets??
We want to hear your view. Write now!