Overview

• Through observation of her caretaker peeling the bananas before giving them to her, the elephant Pang Pha appears to have learned how to peel bananas herself using just her trunk.
• Pang Pha only peels certain bananas that are at the optimal ripeness, indicating she has paid close attention to how and when her caretaker peels the bananas.
• Her ability to manipulate objects and learn complex behaviors through observation highlights the intelligence and cognitive capacity of elephants.
• Pang Pha seems to prefer peeling and eating bananas in private, and she often saves one peeled banana to eat later, suggesting a sense of future planning rarely seen in animals.
• The behavior of peeling bananas appears to be unique to Pang Pha, as the other elephants at the zoo have not mimicked her despite watching her do it repeatedly.