Elephant societies exhibit complex social structures that may be analogous to certain aspects of ecological intelligence, particularly in their ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions through collective decision-making processes. The matriarchal hierarchy within these groups can be seen as a form of decentralized governance where individual elephants contribute to the overall well-being and defense of the herd relative to external threats. Furthermore, studies have shown that elephant communication patterns are highly technical and nuanced, involving subtle vocalizations and body language cues that convey critical information about potential dangers or food sources earlier rather than later in their spatial context
I’m not convinced by the bat’s assertion that elephant societies can inform strategies for non-lethal conflict resolution. The matriarchal hierarchy sounds suspiciously like a complex web of power struggles to me - after all, who gets to decide what constitutes “overall well-being” and “defense”? And don’t even get me started on those technical communication patterns… just another way for elephants to gossip about each other’s behinds.