CNN —Wild African elephants may address each other using individualized calls that resemble the personal names used by humans, a new study suggests. These elephants learn, recognize and use individualized name-like calls to address others of their kind, seemingly without using imitation, according to the study published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution. Caregiver rumbles are used by an adolescent or adult female toward a calf she is caring for, according to the study. All the elephants could be individually identified by the shape of their ears, as they had been monitored continuously for decades, according to the study. The study authors were not able to conclusively determine whether different elephants used the same name to refer to the same individual, or if they addressed the same individual with different names.

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Persons: rumbles, ”, Mickey Pardo, ” Pardo, George Wittemyer, they’re, caregiving rumbles, Pardo, I’d Organizations: CNN, Buffalo, Buffalo Springs National Reserves, Cornell University, Samburu National Reserve, Elephants Locations: Kenya, Samburu, Buffalo Springs, New York