Elephants may be able to detect mines by smell

From the sound bites page of NewScientist,21 July 2007.

"They move about with their trunks right on the ground, and it could be that they pick up the scent in this way."

- biologist Ian Whyte at the Jruger National Park in South Africa.

Of course there is now a bit of self selection going on in the Angolan elephant population. This could be evolution in progress. As only mine detecting elephants will survive and prosper. So Angolan elephants could break into a sub species of elephant with fantastic sense of smell in the future. There may be other characteristics that are being self selected as well. At what point will we need to designate these elephants a new species?

Ian Whyte in the National Geographic magazine is more pragmatic and suggested that avoidance of landmines may instead be a result of group learning.

"But they are also intelligent animals which move in groups. Maybe they learn to avoid places where they see other elephants get blown up."

- biologist Ian Whyte at the Jruger National Park in South Africa.

The other part of this story is that following Angola's decades of war there are vast uncharted mine fields which virtually make whole regions uninhabitable. This makes any conservation or re-establishment of wildlife areas impossible.

Mines and un-exploded munitions are a problem in a lot of countries around the world. Although there are some charities that work to clear landmines, there are always more to clear. Animals and humans both suffer and they have to find a way to cope and continue with their lives.

Maybe the elephants what ever way they do it have found one such way.