One of the best ways for human infants to learn new things is by mimicking their elders. But this behavior is not limited strictly to apes like humans. Many animals learn through copying, including baby elephants.
At an orphanage in Sri Lanka, one mama elephant had help taking care of her two baby elephants. Since most elephants only have one baby, this lucky mama was happy to have all the help she could get.
But these two adorable elephant calves could only learn how to be an elephant from their mom, and they did so by copying their mom’s behaviors. Of course, like any other infant, their attempts at mimicry were not as practiced or deft as their mother’s.
While their mom could toss dirt onto her back with a practiced flick of her trunk, her two babies struggled to grasp anything in their trunks. One of the twins managed to grab a plant and throw it on her head, but they were otherwise unsuccessful.
Eventually, the baby elephant that threw a plant on their head decided to give up on giving themselves a mud bath. Instead, they grabbed a bunch of plant stems and swung them around like a child would a stick.
For growing elephants, this type of play is essential for their development. Since their trunks function in a similar way to the arms of a human, learning to do these dextrous motions will be helpful as they get older and have to give themselves mud baths.
In the meantime, these elephant calves made a heartwarming display of their developing skills. Even if they were not as skilled as their mom, they were overwhelmingly cute and will have even the most serious cooing with glee.
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