Elephants are as smart as dolphins and great apes

In a series of tests, the giant mammals learned to cooperate to solve a problem, researchers report in Monday’s edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Elephants are socially complex, explained lead researcher Joshua M. Plotnik.

“They help others in distress,” he said. “They seem in some ways emotionally attached to each other, so you would expect there would be some level of cooperation.”