Part 1: Inner Life of Elephants, Part 1: Introduction

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DrMotiNissani
April 20, 2008

Loggers, Learners, Thinkers(?) A 17-part research film of elephants, shot on location in the Detroit Zoo and, mostly, in three logging camps in the Burmese jungle. The film focuses on the daily...

Loggers, Learners, Thinkers(?)

A 17-part research film of elephants, shot on location in the Detroit Zoo and, mostly, in three logging camps in the Burmese jungle. The film focuses on the daily lives, logging, behavior, and cognition of Asian elephants.

We have several reasons for placing this scientific film here: 1. Elephants are at risk, and only a love of elephants might be able to save them from decimation and excessive human cruelty. You cannot watch this film, be human, and yet not love these trunkers! 2. Elephants are truly lovable, majestic, animals. We wanted to share the joy we felt in their company. 3. The scientific establishment forces scientists to make their writings as dull, obscure, and opaque as the medical establishment forces physicians to make theirs, and for similar reasons. But the truth is that science is fun, and that we are all scientists. We wanted to show you that you too can be a scientist, without degrees and jargon, and that if you apply yourself, love the subject, and are reasonably intelligent, you do have a chance of making significant discoveries--in animal behavior, astronomy, or any other field. 4. We wanted to introduce people to Burmese folk music--for us, one of the most fascinating folk music traditions in the world. 5.Finally, there is the philosophical question: Do animals think? The scientific establishment, in its wisdom, chooses nowadays to ignore the empirical evidence of Fabre and Thorndike, and to embrace the view that some animals are conscious and that they do think. The evidence, however, even though we too started with the absolute conviction that elephants are conscious, is that animals are not conscious, they do not think, they cannot figure out things in their head, and they are not self-aware. Watch the film and judge for yourself!

Dedication: These experiments were inspired by the work of the genuine father of ethology (=science of animal behavior), J. Henri Fabre, a working-class genius scorned in his time and in ours. Also, this film was only made possible by the generous assistance of some wonderful elephant workers in Burma. It is dedicated to both Fabre and our Burmese friends: May one day full recognition be bestowed on Fabre, and may one day freedom and prosperity arrive at Burma's shore!

Category: Pets & Animals

Tags:

elephants; cognition; behavior; insight; logging; ethology; Burma; daily life; Moti Nissani; Donna

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Part 1: Inner Life of Elephants, Part 1: Introduction

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