# Is it true an elephant never forgets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [July 30, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-an-elephant-never-forgets/314913 "2005-07-30T18:30:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![masheene\_comcast.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ec9cab/32.png) [@masheene\_comcast.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masheene_comcast.net)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-an-elephant-never-forgets/314913/1 "2005-07-30T18:30:57Z")
I once saw a documentary on Animal Planet about elephants’ memory, and they said the old cliche was actually a commentary on their inborn sense of direction, relative to water. Apparently, elephants are endowed at birth with the ingrained memory of the surrounding area’s watering holes. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-an-elephant-never-forgets/314913/2 "2005-07-30T19:53:17Z")
I assume you’re posting in reference to [Is it true an elephant never forgets?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_005.html) Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Boards, **masheene** , we’re glad to have you with us. When you start a thread, it’s helpful to other readers if you provide a link to the Column you’re commenting on. Keeps us all on the same page (so to speak) and saves searching time. No biggie, you’ll know for next time… and, as I say, welcome! ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-an-elephant-never-forgets/314913/3 "2005-07-31T14:41:51Z")
Not sure this is on topic, but [as reported in: Guns, Germs and Steel](http://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/), elephants are not raised to be beasts of burden. I’m guessing that is true of circus elephants and other trained pachyderms as well. If I remember correctly (NOTICE: I am NO elephant at recollection!) it is too problematic too breed elephants, so a wild animal is captured and trained. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-an-elephant-never-forgets/314913/4 "2005-08-01T00:55:20Z")
I knew an elephant trainer who worked for the circus. The animals, according to him, are very sensitive to outside influences. The stories he told me were fantastic. For exampe, he told the story of a chain of eleplants being spooked by a dog and one breaking (the first one) his chains. Said the animal kept looking back and back, started to panic and went wild. He soon calmed the animal down. Yes elephants can remember, but according to my friend they have no special memory retainment any more than any other animal. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-an-elephant-never-forgets/314913/5 "2005-08-01T02:18:44Z")
> [@SiXSwordS](#): > > … elephants are not raised to be beasts of burden. It’s well known that Pink Elephants are beasts of bourbon. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2005, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-an-elephant-never-forgets/314913/6 "2005-08-01T03:28:19Z")
Well really how much do they have to remember? ---
**Author:** ![Piku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de0a6/32.png) [@Piku](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Piku)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-an-elephant-never-forgets/314913/7 "2005-08-05T14:52:32Z")
The phrase ‘an elephant never forgets’ is built upon many different things elephants seem to recall. Firstly, as stated above, elephants have migratory paths that bring them to watering holes that their ancestors have been going to for hundreds of years. There can be many of these water sources along the way to their destination. Another is that elephants are extremely social, and when a member of their group dies, they will spend a lot of time with the corpse. If the bones remain, they will again spend time rubbing and picking up the bones. They will do this every time they pass the place the death occured. This is another reason for ‘an elephant never forgets’. I’m sure there are more, as elephants are quite smart, but I’m not an elephant expert 🙂