Elephants recognise human voices

Elephants are able to differentiate between ethnicities and genders, and can tell an adult from a child - all from the sound of a human voice. This is according to a study in which researchers played voice recordings to wild African elephants. The animals showed more fear when they heard the voices of adult Masai men. Livestock-herding Masai people do come into conflict with elephants, and this suggests that animals have adapted to specifically listen for and avoid them, according to a news agency.