Footage of Asian elephants wielding trunks at the Berlin Zoo has revealed impressive showering behavior by the largest land animals, and perhaps even a spontaneous act of sabotage, according to a recent study.

Researchers at the Humboldt University of Berlin and the Berlin Zoological Garden studied waterspout device use by three female elephants (Mary, Pang Pha and Anchali). Mary in particular stood out for her “elaborate hose shower behavior,” the researchers noted. 8 November reportpublished in the magazine Current Biology.

In addition to showering in the traditional way (with just her hose), Mary spontaneously used her hose to grab the water and shower her body in “multiple different and purposeful ways”; for example, by adjusting your grip and stance and targeting different body parts. researchers said.

They explained: “Mary would often hold the end of the hose behind and use it as a hard shower head. However, to reach his back, he held the trunk further away from the end and used the flexibility and ballistics of the trunk to swing it towards his back. Mary spent more time showering the left side of her body while using the hose. However, the researchers observed the opposite preference when Mary took a trunk shower. “Many species that exhibit a clearly lateralized tool use behavior do not show a lateral preference for other behaviors, suggesting that tool use promotes lateralization,” the researchers said. “Oddly, (Mary’s) preference for trunk showers does not match her ‘baggageness,'” they added.

Mary’s masterful use of this complex tool led researchers to wonder whether elephants “intuitively understand trunks, potentially due to their similarity to their own trunks,” study co-author Lena Kaufmann said in a video summary of the paper.

At one point, Mary’s shower time was even interrupted by young Anchali, an apparent saboteur. During Mary’s rinse, “Anchali began to pull the water hose toward herself, lifting it and twisting it, then grasping it again and squeezing it.” Researchers determined the extent of Anchali’s repetitive “twisting and pinching” actions across different sessions. They found that its brazen ability to block water flow increased over time.

As for the seemingly stealthy elephant’s intentions, the researchers noted that although their observations pointed to sabotage, they could not confirm it. “In control experiments with multiple hoses, it was unclear whether Anchali specifically targeted Mary’s shower hose,” they explained in the article.

However, this latest research provides further evidence of elephants’ impressive intelligence and dexterity, suggesting that they are not just tool users – they may even enjoy a bit of playful trickery. It serves as a reminder of how complex and intelligent these animals are, and adds to our understanding of the rich mental lives of these fascinating giants.