We share with elephants not only cognitive skills but also emotions. ‘The cerebral cortex allows for cognitive processing in land animals’, like humans elephants have exceptional cognitive abilities for tool use and tool making as well as problem-solving.

An interesting theory of Trans-species psychology argues that “existing scientific evidence points to a common model of brain, mind, and behaviour for humans and nonhuman animals”. G. Bradshaw asserts that records from as far back as Charles Darwin’s evolutionary research together with data from neuroscience, ethology, and psychology, show that “evolution conserves brain and mind across species”.

Read a review of Elephants on the Edge: What Animals Teach Us about Humanity

By Patricia C. Prada Jimenez