Page 43 - 2011 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - March 2011

7 '11)# &'0 7 '11)# & 1 Elephants are quick learners, offer helping hand By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID AP Science Writer WASHINGTON—Elephants quickly learn to lend each other a helping hand—ah, make that a helping trunk. In a series of tests, the giant mammals learned to cooperate to solve a problem, researchers report in Monday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Elephants are socially complex, explained lead researcher Joshua M. Plotnik. "They help others in distress," he said. "They seem in some ways emotionally attached to each other, so you would expect there would be some level of cooperation." However, he added, "I was surprised how quickly they learned." The elephants caught on as quickly as chimpanzees, elevating themselves to such heady company as great apes, dolphins and crows, according to Plotnik, of the department of experimental psychology at England's help find ways to protect them in the wild, he care of patients of the plague. His rose pills Cambridge University. said, noting that the greatest danger to elephants were said to prevent the deadly plague. Though The tests, conducted in Thailand, in Asia is people. he worked tirelessly, his efforts weren’t all involved food rewards placed on a platform on Don Moore, associate director of animal effective as in 1534, his wife and 2 children died the ground connected to a rope. The elephants care science at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, of the plague. Eventually, he settled down in were behind a fence. To get the food, the said observations of elephants have suggested Salon-de-Provence where he and his second elephants had to pull the two ends of the rope at that they cooperate, but it hadn't been wife lived with their 6 children. the same time to drag the platform under the experimentally tested before. Some time in 1540′s, Nostradamus fence. Pull only one end and all you get is rope. "Elephants are big, they're social, they started his predictive research in hopes of Six pairs of elephants were tested 40 live long lives and they're really, really smart," writing an Almanac, which he actually did, and times over two days and every pair figured it he said. thereafter, published one Almanac per year. out, succeeding on at least eight of the last 10 Stone and Moore were not involved in In his work, he drew from the trials. the research, which was supported by the U.S. knowledge of the works of Mirabilis Liber who Then the scientists tried releasing the Department of Education and other groups. [] wrote about the prophecies of varied saints and elephants into the test area separately, up to 45 seers. He also used horoscopy, which believes seconds apart. The elephants quickly learned to Nostradamus: What is Coming in 2012? in the significance of the movement of the stars, wait for their partners, with a success rate of comets passing through the sky and other between 88 and 97 percent for various pairs on With the events that have occurred heavenly occurences. He used divining the second day. recently such as the Christchurch earthquake, equipment, depended on charts for astrology However, one young elephant had what Japan earthquake & tsunami, and massive and prepared charts for people of note and the the researchers termed an "unconventional" unexplained animal deaths all over the world, it wealthy. solution to the problem. As Plotnik and co- is spawning research into predictions and what Nostradamus’ predictions over the authors explained, the elephant firmly put one books like the Bible has to say about the End of centuries have proved to coincide with actual foot on the end of her rope, "forcing her partner Days. occurrences and the people who have affected to do all the work to retrieve the table." Searches on Nostradamus have been our human history, including such notorious In another experiment, the researchers increasing, especially in regards to his ones such as Napoleon, Hitler, and others, the left only one end of the rope within reach of the predictions about 2012. 9/11 terrorist attacks, and world wars. elephants, with the other end coiled on the table. Nostradamus, was born in 1503 and There has certainly been more than a The elephants didn't bother to pull the rope, though he has often been referred to as a grain of truth in his prophecies, with one seeming to recognize that it wouldn't work if prophet, he emphatically said that he was not a significant one, which is yet to come…and is their partner couldn't pull the other end. prophet, but might have been more accurately very close – the year 2012. It is hard to draw a line between learning known as a predictive researcher. As they say, only time will tell. This and understanding, the researchers concluded, His birth name was Michel de man/prophet/seer, has had a huge following but the elephants did engage in cooperative Nostredame and he was born in Saint-Remy-de- through the centuries, including our many behavior and paid attention to their partner. Provence, France. His formal education began modern day believers. As well, many books Adam Stone, elephant program manager at age 15 at the University of Avignon. have been written about Nostradamus. at Zoo Atlanta, said it was significant that the Due to the bubonic plague outbreak, his Even if you aren’t a believer, it is very elephants learned quickly. university closed. When he enrolled at the interesting reading and something to ponder. "We're learning about the amazing mind University of Montpellier in 1529, he was soon Looking forward to 2012.[] of the elephant," he said. expelled because he had worked as an It was long thought that learning and apothecary – which students were prohibited COMING SOON cooperation were limited to primates, and "it's from doing, according to the rules of the THE ‘X’ ZONE TV SHOW interesting to see that these other species are on university. the ball," Stone said. After his expulsion from Montpellier, ON Understanding how they think could Nostradamus went back to working as an THE TALKSTAR TV NETWORK apothecary and traveled through France to take