Is This the Most Mind-Blowing Performance Ever?

[Moonbear]

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/elephantpainting.asp

Thank you! That's what I've been trying to say. Just because other elephants' paintings are messy doesn't mean one couldn't be trained to copy a pattern more neatly.

I think it's more interesting just seeing how well they can control the movements of their trunks (the number of muscles in their trunks to give them such fine control of movement is amazing). And, as I mentioned in the beginning, there seems to be an odd problem of depth perception (unless the elephant was hesitating waiting for an appropriate signal from the trainer).

 

[Gokul43201]

And, as I mentioned in the beginning, there seems to be an odd problem of depth perception (unless the elephant was hesitating waiting for an appropriate signal from the trainer).

I don't think that's a problem with depth perception. I think it's just a matter of doing something with a precision that an elephant typically doesn't have to bother with. Humans use their hands a lot for making very precise motions, but not so much their legs. If you try sketching on a vertical canvas with a marker held between your toes, you'll find it's harder to do...and you'd be searching around a little bit like Jumbo. Once the marker's on the surface though, it steadies your foot, and makes it easier to follow a desired path.

 

[Evo]

I posted that yesterday.

The article says

Mrs Khunapramot, who set up the Thai Fine Art company after studying the history of art in St Andrews and business management at Edinburgh's Napier University, said it took about a month to train the animals to paint.

Elephant expert Dr Joyce Poole, who has studied the animals for 30 years, said she owned an elephant painting but had not come across animals painting their own images.

The Oslo-based scientist said: "I have seen elephants painting, but it was very free-flow.

"It's certainly capable of drawing an elephant, and could be trained, but might not really understand what it was doing."

So they trained an elephant to paint a pattern. That's a long stretch to claiming an elephant can knowingly paint a portrait. From looking at the pattern the elephant made in the BBC article, there's your proof that the videos are faked.

Of course I bow to MB since she had more faith in the elephant's art than I had. I love elephants, that reunion show I mentioned just ripped my heart out, these animals have feelings of love and affection and bonding that are incredible.

I apologize to gravenewworld also, I guess his elephant was also trained to paint.

 

[Moonbear]

Of course I bow to MB since she had more faith in the elephant's art than I had.

Not so much faith as just knowing that they do have such exquisite motor control of their trunks that it's entirely plausible to me that they could have fine control of a paintbrush.

After Gokul's last comment, I'm tempted to get a paintbrush and see how well I paint with my toes, just to see if pressing the brush on the paper gives me a feeling of more control than approaching the paper. (It can't be any worse than when I used to take notes left-handed to keep myself entertained in boring lectures...I will still find myself with a pen in my left hand if I've been listening intently to a lecture or seminar.)

 

[gravenewworld]

Pic of my elephant art that I picked up on my trip to Thailand

Definitely real, saw it paint it with my own eyes. LOL I paid only a $1.50 for it. I was looking on the net and some elephant art sells for 100s of dollars.

 

[WarPhalange]

It must be made out of higher-quality elephants or something if it costs 100 times more.

 

[grant9076]

I am no zoologist. However, even I know that elephants have http://www.elephantvoices.org/tools/documents/ElephantBrain_shoshani.pdf" in comparison to ours. In addition, an average elephant has a massive corpus collosum. Here is a small excerpt:

an elephant brain is
about 3.4 times larger than a human brain, but the measurement
of the facial nerve of the elephants is 5.2 times larger than that
of a human. In elephants, the most striking feature of the cranial
nerves is the enormous size of the nerves supplying the proboscis.

In light of this, why is it so difficult to believe that an elephant has reasonable trunk dexterity?

I am not saying that their larger brain size makes them smarter than we are.

However, I know that a large brain is a biologically expensive organ to maintain. In short, elephants have large brains because they need them for something. It is quite likely that they are not stupid as many people think.

 

[rootX]

I'll have to hunt for one. After seeing this documentary, you will never think of elephants as being less than human.

Did you find it? :!)
I couldn't find it on this thread.

I also saw one similar elephant documentary on Discovery Wild some five year ago. It made my cry!

And as for Elephant drawing, I don't think it's a talent. I wonder how happy the elephant would be if you force him to do something for your own pleasures. I feel like it's little disgusting, particularly the way some people train animals for making money/amusing themselves. I never liked circus when even I was very little.