Humans Give Attention, Elephants Respond
The Asian elephant is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Its population has declined primarily due to habitat loss caused by deforestation, human–elephant conflict, and poaching. Today, fewer than 50,000 individuals are estimated to remain in the wild.
Although elephant populations are seriously threatened, these magnificent animals show a remarkable ability to communicate using various methods. Their communication is multifaceted, encompassing sounds, gestures, touches, chemical signals, and even seismic vibrations in the ground. Given their sophisticated communication and social intelligence, the question arises: do elephants know when we are observing them, and how aware are they of our attention?
The answer to that question comes from a recent study titled, Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) recognize human visual attention from body and face orientation, published in early October. The authors of the study are Hoi-Lam Jim, Shinya Yamamoto, Pakkanut Bansiddhi, and Joshua M. Plotnik.
Hoi-Lam Jim, corresponding author from Kyoto University’s Institute for the Future of Human Society, shared insights on the study.
Elephants Respond to Human Attention
“Despite these recent advances in our understanding of African savanna elephants’ socio-cognitive abilities, little is known about this in other elephant species. The three living elephant species—African savanna, African forest (Loxodonta cyclotis), and Asian (Elephas maximus)—belong to the family Elephantidae, with the lineage of Asian elephants diverging from that of African elephants approximately 5–7 million years ago,” the scientists pointed out in the study.
The study was conducted with the help of ten adult female Asian elephants from the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation living on the properties of the Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort in Chiang Rai, Thailand.
Each elephant participated in the experiment between February and March 2024, where a researcher stood in front of her holding a piece of mango, while the orientation of the researcher’s body and head varied in each situation, with both her face and body toward the elephant, both turned away, only the face turned toward, or only the body turned toward the elephant and including a situation when the experimenter was absent. The scientists then observed how the elephants’ behavior changed, that is, their visual displays and gestures.
The results showed that the elephants gestured most when both the researcher’s face and body were directed toward them, clearly indicating their interest in those situations. This suggests that body orientation serves as a stronger visual cue than facial direction, but only when the face is also turned toward the elephant. In other words, Asian elephants do not automatically react to human presence; instead, they carefully assess the situation and interpret signs of attention. They recognize when a person is paying attention to them and, based on this, decide whether to attempt communication.
How Elephants Sense the World — and Why It Matters for Their Conservation
What does this tell us about their adaptation to different sensory modalities and about their evolution?
Hoi-Lam Jim: Although elephants rely mainly on acoustic and olfactory cues, they also use visual displays and gestures to communicate. In our study, we found that Asian elephants understand when a human is visually attentive, which is important for effective communication. Since elephants naturally depend more on sound and smell, they may rely on these senses more than vision when communicating with each other, which is something that remains to be tested. However, research on African savanna elephants has shown that they choose visual gestures when another elephant is looking and tactile or audible signals when the other elephant is not. Overall, our findings highlight elephants’ flexibility in using different sensory modalities for communication. They add to mixed evidence that Asian and African elephants share some advanced socio-cognitive abilities, and provide support for the convergent evolution of social cognition in evolutionarily distant species such as elephants and great apes.
Do you think there is a difference between sexes in sensitivity to human visual attention, and what role might hormonal factors play in this?
Hoi-Lam Jim: It’s unlikely that there is a difference between males and females in their sensitivity to human visual attention. In captivity, both sexes have similar experiences with humans as caretakers, so their ability to interpret human visual cues is probably comparable. That said, our study only tested female Asian elephants, so we cannot draw firm conclusions about potential sex differences. Moreover, both wild male and female elephants are highly social and live in complex fission–fusion societies, where cooperation and social awareness are essential. We did not examine hormonal factors in this study, so we cannot comment on their potential role.
How could this help in their conservation?
Hoi-Lam Jim: There are two main ways that elephant cognition research can contribute to conservation. First, understanding how elephants perceive the world through their senses — their “umwelt” — is key to designing experiments and interpreting their behaviour accurately. Our study examined whether elephants use visual gestures to communicate, even though they rely mainly on hearing and smell. By exploring how they use different senses, we gain a deeper understanding of their behaviour, which can inform more effective conservation strategies that truly consider their needs and experiences.
Second, elephants are often described as “gentle giants” and are beloved for their intelligence and empathy. By studying and highlighting cognitive abilities that resonate with people, such as their sensitivity to human attention, we can foster empathy and encourage public investment in their protection. Demonstrating that elephants attend to humans during interactions helps bridge the perceived gap between species, and promoting understanding of these shared abilities can be a powerful way to inspire conservation action.
Elephants have roamed the Earth for millions of years. Highly intelligent and socially aware, they perceive our attention, reminding us that understanding their world is key to protecting their future.
Image: An elephant takes part in a test trial where the human’s body and face are directed towards the animal. (KyotoU / Hoi-Lam Jim)
