Elephants know when we're looking at them

October 5, 2025

Imma Perfetto
Cosmos science journalist

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Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). Credit: © Mousam Ray, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)
When elephants communicate with each other, they mainly do so through sounds and smells. Fitting, given their massive, flapping ears and long trunks.

They also use visual displays and gestures.

Previous research has shown that African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) can recognise when humans are looking at them based on the orientation of the person’s face and body.

Now, a team from Japan’s Kyoto University have shown that the same is true for Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) which diverged from their African cousins about 5 to 7 million of years ago.

The food-requesting experiment involved 10 captive female elephants in Chiang Rai in northern Thailand.

More:
https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/animals/asian-elephants-perception/