We have a “peel”-ephant!
Researchers at the Berlin Zoo have discovered that Pang Pha, an Asian elephant, has developed the ability to peel bananas by observing her keepers, without any formal instruction. However, Pang Pha has a particular preference for peeling bananas that have already begun to turn brown. This picky elephant has taught herself a unique superpower, much to the surprise of her caretakers – and scientists.
According to the latter, Pha “peels faster than humans by a partially stereotyped sequence of behaviors: she breaks the banana, shakes out and collects the pulp, and discards the peel.”
“Shaking and peeling are repeated until no or little pulp is left inside the peel and leftovers are checked multiple times with the trunk tip,” they report in a study published in Current Biology.
Despite being capable of peeling bananas, Pha is quite selective and doesn’t peel every banana that comes her way. Researchers who were studying Pha’s behavior initially believed that her preferences for peeling bananas were arbitrary, as she refused to peel bananas for several weeks, even when offered.
After some observation, the researchers were able to determine that Pha chooses bananas to peel based on their level of ripeness. She has a particular aversion to green and green-yellow bananas, but has peeled as many as 82% of yellow-brown bananas, as well as a majority of fully brown bananas.
“It was only when we understood that she peels only yellow-brown bananas that our project took off,” they explained.
This behavior is all the more interesting as elephants usually consume green and yellow bananas in their entirety, including the skin, but hardly eat brown bananas.
Surprisingly, Pha’s behavior towards bananas was also influenced by her social surroundings. In the presence of other elephants, such as her daughter Anchali and Drumbo, another female Asian elephant, she was much less likely to showcase her peeling skills. In fact, while eating yellow-brown bananas alongside these elephants, she ate most of them whole, except for the last banana, which she peeled.
Despite elephants being recognized for their exceptional cognitive capabilities and proficient use of their trunks, the researchers note that these animals are not typically known for their proficiency in peeling bananas.
“African elephants appear to be able to interpret human pointing gestures and to classify human ethnic groups,” they write, “but complex human-derived manipulation behaviors like the banana peeling reported here appear to have only rarely been observed.”
The authors suggest that Pang Pha’s remarkable skills can be attributed to her upbringing. When she first arrived at the Berlin Zoo in 1987, she was hand-raised by caretakers who frequently fed her peeled bananas, right in front of her. The researchers speculate that Pha acquired the ability to peel bananas because of this, through the process of observational learning.
“We discovered a very unique behavior,” study author Michael Brecht said in a statement. “What makes Pang Pha’s banana peeling so unique is a combination of factors – skillfulness, speed, individuality, and the putatively human origin – rather than a single behavioral element.”