Researchers say that what we have learned or usually about 85% of what we know has been through our developed ability to listen. Although in general we spend much of our time listening, we are distracted or preoccupied or we forget 75% of what we hear. Pointing to one indisputable fact that we always need to develop our listening ability.
“Poor listening skills are at the root of many of society’s problems,” According to Rebecca Shafir, a speech pathologist and communications expert, she believes that this is often a factor in suicides, school violence, family breakups, and drug abuse. Social scientists observe that people have different listening styles. Some are people oriented listeners and like to hear all the colorful details surrounding a story. Others are action-oriented listeners and want the speaker to get to the point. “So, in a conversation between a people-oriented listener and an action-oriented listener, what we could have is a failure to communicate.”
For good reason, in the bible at Luke 8:18 Jesus stressed the need to “pay attention to how you listen.” Good listening shows good manners and it’s universal. It is a vital part of good conversation and skilled communication. Sensible suggestions on how to listen during a conversation include turning away from distractions, leaning slightly forward, and giving active feedback with eye contact and nodding. Since much of our learning depends on effective listening paying attention is something we must all continue to work on.
But how do you listen to elephants when some of the calls contain components that are below the level of human hearing and yet are so powerful that they can be heard by an elephant several miles away. Researchers say, when elephants talk ranging from low frequency rumblings to high frequency trumpets, roars, bellows, barks, and snorts.
“Experts in animal behavior are puzzled by the intricate ways in which elephants convey serious messages.” Joyce Poole a researcher who has spent over 20 years studying communication concepts among African elephants concludes that these huge creatures, known for their coveted tusks, exhibit feelings found in very few animals. “It is hard to watch elephants” remarkable behavior during a family or bond group greeting ceremony or at the birth of a new family member… and not imagine that they feel very strong emotions which could be best described by words such as joy, happiness, love, feelings of friendship, exuberance, amusement, pleasure, compassion, relief, and respect,” says Poole.
When getting together after being separated for long periods, their greetings turn to pandemonium, as members rush together with heads high and ears folded and flapping. At times, an elephant will even put its trunk into another’s mouth. These greetings seem to give the elephants a deep sense of joy, as if they were saying, “Wow! It’s simply fantastic to be with you again!”. Such bonds renew the support network vital to their survival.
Elephants seem to have a sense of humor too. Poole describes watching elephants draw the corners of their mouths in what she called a smile, wagging their heads in a manner suggesting amusement. She once initiated a game in which the animals took part, and for 15 minutes they behaved in a totally absurd manner. Two years later, some participants seemed to “smile” at her again, perhaps remembering her involvement in the game. Not only do elephants amuse each other in play but they also mimic sounds. In a research project, Poole heard a sound that was different from the normal elephant calls. On analysis, it was suggested that the elephants were imitating the noise made by trucks passing nearby. And they were apparently doing it for fun! It is as if elephants look for any excuse to get excited.
Much has been said about the way elephants appear to mourn when calamity befalls a family member. Poole once observed a female standing guard over her stillborn baby for three days and described it this way: Her “facial expressions” seemed “similar to a grief stricken, depressed person: her head and ears hung down, the corners of her mouth were turned down.”
Those who kill elephants for ivory do not consider the ‘psychological trauma’ of the orphans who may have witnessed the killing of their mothers. These babies spend the first few days at an animal orphanage trying to overcome their “grief.” A keeper reported having heard the orphans “scream” in the morning Repercussions can be observed several years after the death. Poole suggests that the elephants can detect the hand of man in their suffering.
I sincerely believe and look forward to the time when man and animals will live together in peace. As the book of Isaiah 11:6-9 in the bible says, “ And the wolf will actually reside for a while with the male lamb, and with the kid the leopard itself will lie down, and the calf and the manned young lion and the well-fed animal all together; and a mere little boy will be leader over them. And the cow and the bear themselves will feed; together their young ones will lie down. And even the lion will eat straw just like the bull. And the sucking child will certainly play upon the hole of the cobra; and upon the light aperture of a poisonous snake will a weaned child actually put his own hand. They will not do any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain; because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah (Bible’s name of God) as the waters are covering the very sea.”
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