Saturday, 1 October 2011

Elephants yell 'Bees!'

I don't have anything to add to this Language Log post on the news that elephants have an alarm call for bees. I just like the idea of elephants yelling 'BEES!' when they see bees. Apparently African bees are one of the few things that are dangerous to elephants (these are presumably the terrifying African killer bees that they every now and then tell us are headed for the UK). The bees can sting them round the trunk and eyes and as they travel and attack in swarms, can be very dangerous indeed. Elephants (African ones only, of course) have a specific alarm call that means 'BEES!'. Or possibly 'BEES!! Run away, run away!!'

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