YouTube link.
I don't think anyone should really need a study to show that elephants are intelligent and can work cooperatively to achieve a goal (see, for example, this video of elephants rescuing a baby elephant from a water hole). Still, this is an interesting video, which I found at Arbroath.
"Smelling isn't everything" said the Elephant. "Why," said the Bulldog, "if a fellow can't trust his nose, what is he to trust?" "Well, his brains perhaps," she replied mildly.” (C.S. Lewis)
One of the greatest examples of cooperation among elephants that I've seen was another rescue of a baby from a waterhole. Only this time they really showed complex cooperation and communication. The herd broke apart into groups, each elephant doing its part. It was amazing enough to watch the few elephants that kneeled into the water to help, some using their trunks to help hold the baby up, one or two digging out the side of the waterhole to make it less steep. But what really fascinated me were the remaining herd who formed a circle around the working elephants, facing out towards the other animals at the waterhole (zebra, wildebeest, rhino, etc.) to keep them at bay while the others worked to free the baby. It was really spectacular!
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