| Title: | African elephants can detect water from natural and artificial sources via olfactory cues |
| Author(s): | Wood M; Chamaille-Jammes S; Hammerbacher A; Shrader AM; |
| Address: | "Department of Zoology and Entomology, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ Paul Valery Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France. Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. Department of Zoology and Entomology, Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. adrian.shrader@up.ac.za" |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10071-021-01531-2 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1435-9456 (Electronic) 1435-9448 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Water is vital for mammals. Yet, as ephemeral sources can be difficult to find, it raises the question, how do mammals locate water? Elephants (Loxodonta africana) are water-dependent herbivores that possess exceptional olfactory capabilities, and it has been suggested that they may locate water via smell. However, there is no evidence to support this claim. To explore this, we performed two olfactory choice experiments with semi-tame elephants. In the first, we tested whether elephants could locate water using olfactory cues alone. For this, we used water from two natural dams and a drinking trough utilised by the elephants. Distilled water acted as a control. In the second, we explored whether elephants could detect three key volatile organic compounds (VOCs) commonly associated with water (geosmin, 2-methylisoborneol, and dimethyl sulphide). We found that the elephants could locate water olfactorily, but not the distilled water. Moreover, they were also able to detect the three VOCs associated with water. However, these VOCs were not in the odour profiles of the water sources in our experiments. This suggests that the elephants were either able to detect the unique odour profiles of the different water sources or used other VOCs that they associate with water. Ultimately, our findings indicate that elephants can locate water olfactorily at small spatial scales, but the extent to which they, and other mammals, can detect water over larger scales (e.g. km) remains unclear" |
| Keywords: | Animals Cues *Elephants Odorants Smell Water 2-Methylisoborneol Dimethyl sulphide Geosmin Smell of water Surface water Volatile organic compounds; |
| Notes: | "MedlineWood, Matthew Chamaille-Jammes, Simon Hammerbacher, Almuth Shrader, Adrian M eng ANR-16-CE02-0001-01/Agence Nationale de la Recherche/ Germany 2021/07/23 Anim Cogn. 2022 Feb; 25(1):53-61. doi: 10.1007/s10071-021-01531-2. Epub 2021 Jul 22" |
