An Elephant’s ‘Radar’ Can Detect Rain 150 Miles Away

They say elephants never forget – and evidently they can vividly remember the sound of rain, so much so that they can tell when a storm is approaching even if it’s 150 miles away, and their ability to do so might one day save them from being killed by the thousands by poachers, according to research that includes a Texas A&M University professor.

Oliver Frauenfeld, assistant professor in the Department of Geography, and colleagues from the University of Virginia, Australia’s University of New South Wales and the University of Utah, have had their work published in the scientific journal PLOS One.

The team analyzed data from GPS tracking devices placed on elephants in 14 different herds in the Namibia region of Africa and the elephants’ movements were plotted for seven years. The region has a distinct rainy season and conditions are usually hot and dry with little precipitation.

The researchers found that elephants can “sense” thunderstorms — often hundreds of miles from their current location – and seem to predict approaching rain several days before it occurs. More