# Elephant question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 22, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-question/322921 "2005-09-22T18:18:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-question/322921/1 "2005-09-22T18:18:37Z")
They say that an elephant never forgets. Are they correct? How do we measure an elephant’s memory? Exactly how good is this memory? Is it a photographic memory? Would an elephant that had flipped through a copy of _War and Peace_ ten years ago still carry the text in its head, even if it had no clue what any of it meant? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-question/322921/2 "2005-09-22T18:38:20Z")
1. Elephants do seem to have better than average memories for animals – they can recognize trainers after years of not seeing them, and remember tricks they hadn’t done in years. 2. The phrase is not meant to be taken literally. It is a metaphor. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elephant-question/322921/3 "2005-09-22T19:11:34Z")
Our patron researched this some time ago: [Is it true an elephant never forgets?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_005.html)