Thanks to new technologies and artificial intelligence, scientists are discovering more and more evidence that many animals are far more intelligent than previously thought.
From primates that heal themselves to elephants that call each other by name, the natural world has been rich in fascinating discoveries throughout 2024.
Elephants are said to have excellent memories, but these mammals have more than just that ability. In June, researchers reported that these animals are so intelligent that they can even call to each other using unique names.
The names come in the form of deep rumblings that can be heard over long distances in the savannah.
The report published this year in Nature Ecology and Evolution recorded data on African savanna elephants that respond to individual names. This is one of the few wild animal species that can do this.
Biologists have used machine learning to detect the use of names in a sound library of elephant vocalizations recorded in the Samburu National Reserve and Amboseli National Park, Kenya.
That same year, a group of researchers used their expertise in artificial intelligence, biology, and computer science to discover the phonetic alphabet of sperm whales.
In May, scientists in Indonesia observed an orangutan that appeared to be healing and covering a wound with a medicine derived from a medicinal plant, used by populations throughout Southeast Asia to treat pain and inflammation.
The orangutan picked and chewed leaves from the plant, then used its fingers to apply the plant's juice to a wound on its right cheek. It then squeezed the chewed plant to cover the open wound like a makeshift bandage, according to a study published in Scientific Reports.
