Do Elephants Really Think We’re Cute?

Elephants…big, beautiful and bold; but not to be messed with. After stumbling across an article that claimed elephants think humans are cute, I was left looking for answers.

According to the article, elephants react in the same way when they see us as we do when we set eyes upon a puppy. Allegedly, the elephant brain reacts to humans the same way our brains react to puppies. Although this may be the feel-good fact that you needed today, please don’t get too excited. Evolutionary experience means that elephants actually treat us as a threat and in fact look at us the way they would a lion – as a predator. Sadly, the idea of us being viewed as ‘cute’ by elephants, stems from captive elephants who are used to people and in fact depend on us for their own wellbeing. Elephants in captivity have been found to alter their behaviour abnormally towards humans in order to ensure survival, with preferences on who they interact with based on past exchanges.

Of the few studies that look into elephant cognition, there is a clear indication that elephants don’t recognise visual cues from humans but do in fact respond to vocal commands. Conservationists believe this should pave the way when implementing protocols for protecting and conserving the future of elephants, which are at great risk of extinction due to poaching.  By using vocal commands scientists believe this could be the technique necessary to deter or attract elephants to certain situations.

Advances in diagnostic techniques means that we can look at great depth into the human brain. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to investigate the multitude of emotions that humans experience and the parts of the brain responsible for this. Due to the palpable difference in head size of elephants and humans, there isn’t currently an MRI big enough for elephants in existence. Even if we did have such equipment available, with MRI scans relying on the patient being awake, keeping an elephant still for the scan is not a task I would like to take on. With elephants having vast structural differences in the brain compared to us, it would also be very hard to distinguish whether the parts of the brain activated when they see people reflect the same emotions as the human brain, as the compartments in their brain may have different functions to ours.

This leads to the question of why we find puppies cute. Research on the parental brain has indicated that being ‘cute’ is one of the ways in which babies ensure they get the necessary care and attention needed to thrive. A positive response is triggered in the parts of our brain responsible for emotion when we see baby-like features, hence this natural nurturing instinct could underline our affection for young animals, such as puppies, that also present these features. Dolls and teddy bears can also instigate these feelings.

So, moral of the story is- if you ever stumble across an elephant, maybe don’t stick around in the hope it thinks you’re cute. Also maybe don’t believe everything you read on twitter, including cute elephant memes.