Retracted: The sensory ecology of fear: African elephants show aversion to olfactory predator signals

Abstract

The outcomes of human-elephant conflict range from expensive to fatal to both humans and elephants across Africa and Asia, which has prompted extensive efforts to mitigate it. Previous attempts have focused primarily on physical barriers, plant deterrent compounds, and elephant-nuisance species. However, the handful of effective approaches are expensive and maintenance-intensive. Here, we approach the problem from the perspective of the sensory ecology of fear, and demonstrate elephant aversion to olfactory signals of lions, African elephants' top predator. We find that elephants demonstrate aversion to olfactory predator signals, and moreover, to inexpensive synthetic mixtures mimicking these signals. This research illustrates the importance of predator avoidance even in the world's largest land animal, and provides the basis for its practical implication to mitigate a devastating and enduring problem.

Evidence for ancestral olfactory sensitivity but not discrimination across two living elephant species

“…Numerous studies have reported the importance of olfactory cues for social communication and food selection in Asian and savanna elephants, and that their sense of smell may play an important role in physical and social decision-making [28][29][30][31]. While olfactory behavioural choice experiments have been performed with both savanna and Asian elephants [32][33][34][35][36][37][38], there have been no studies comparing the olfactory abilities of the two species. This is surprising considering the importance of olfaction for both species of elephants.…”