Goodnet: spreading good news

In this world we can all use some good news. Luckily, there is Goodnet - the main purpose of which is to spread optimistic and hopeful news. I have been writing for Goodnet since 2022, and enjoying every minute. I have learned so much about science, the environment, and innovative tech. It is a pleasure to spread good cheer. 

In this piece, I wrote about the surprising news that elephants call each other by name: 

Inspired by dolphins

It has long been known, The Guardian reports, that African elephants are very social creatures with highly developed brains. They make all sorts of sounds, from low-rumblings, barely audible to the human ear, to loud trumpeting sounds. 

It was these sounds, and his knowledge of dolphin behavior that led Dr. Mickey Pardo, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University, to try and ascertain if any of those sounds were names, according to NPR.

“Sometimes another bottlenose dolphin will imitate somebody else's signature whistle in order to get their attention, so effectively calling them by name,” Pardo told NPR. “The idea from the outset of this project was to try to figure out if elephants have names.”