For the first time, remote-control cameras disguised as heaps of dung have infiltrated the elephant herds of Africa. Moving slowly across the plains, the 'dungcams' have shot hundreds of hours of elephant footage of the most intimate variety. On watching the footage, you start to believe that elephants may indeed be as intelligent as the great apes. As film-maker John Downer says, "When you see the immense co-operation and sensitivity between these animals, you realise that they must be extremely clever." He recounts how the dungcams caught a group of very excited elephants around a newborn elephant. The baby was struggling to get to his feet, and all the females got involved in trying to help him up. When a male arrived and tried to interfere with the group, female reinforcements were quickly called back to prevent him from trampling the baby. "The communication and understanding is so evident when you get inside the herd. I know of no other species, apart from ourselves, who gather to greet a newborn and equally appear to mourn their dead relatives. This kind of empathetic behaviour is unusual, and I think it points towards a higher consciousness."
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