For a 7,600-pound Asian elephant, simply putting one foot in front of the other can be a high-stakes proposition: A trip or tumble can result in grievous injury.
All it took were Hollywood-trained animals, a set of enormous blindfolds and a willingness to — carefully — nudge one of the planet’s largest land mammals ever so slightly off balance.
But it was not clear whether the same principle would be true for elephants, which are often active in low-light conditions and might rely more on tactile cues and physical sensations to stay on their feet.
So Dr. Hutchinson and his colleague Max Kurz, a neuroscientist at the Boys Town National Research Hospital in Nebraska, set off to a California facility that trained elephants for movies, commercials and other types of entertainment.
“It does indicate that there is an important role of vision in these animals for not just knowing where they’re walking, but also controlling the movement of their limbs,” said Dr. Donelan, who also praised the researchers’ experimental approach.
Veterinarians and animal caretakers might also be able to use this kind of gait analysis to monitor elephant health, Dr. Hutchinson said, with erratically timed strides showing a sign of neurological or muscular problems.
The original article contains 728 words, the summary contains 204 words. Saved 72%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
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For a 7,600-pound Asian elephant, simply putting one foot in front of the other can be a high-stakes proposition: A trip or tumble can result in grievous injury.
All it took were Hollywood-trained animals, a set of enormous blindfolds and a willingness to — carefully — nudge one of the planet’s largest land mammals ever so slightly off balance.
But it was not clear whether the same principle would be true for elephants, which are often active in low-light conditions and might rely more on tactile cues and physical sensations to stay on their feet.
So Dr. Hutchinson and his colleague Max Kurz, a neuroscientist at the Boys Town National Research Hospital in Nebraska, set off to a California facility that trained elephants for movies, commercials and other types of entertainment.
“It does indicate that there is an important role of vision in these animals for not just knowing where they’re walking, but also controlling the movement of their limbs,” said Dr. Donelan, who also praised the researchers’ experimental approach.
Veterinarians and animal caretakers might also be able to use this kind of gait analysis to monitor elephant health, Dr. Hutchinson said, with erratically timed strides showing a sign of neurological or muscular problems.
The original article contains 728 words, the summary contains 204 words. Saved 72%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!