African elephants have a specific alarm call that means humans are nearby.

In 2014, researchers from the University of Oxford and Save the Elephants studied wild elephants in Kenya. They played recordings of voices from the Samburu people to different elephant families. The elephants reacted by making a low-frequency rumble and fleeing the area.Scientists analyzed these sounds and found they were distinct from other calls. When elephants hear a 'bee' alarm, they shake their heads to knock insects away. When they hear the 'human' alarm, they do not shake their heads but instead start running. This shows elephants use specific sounds to label different types of threats.Elephants produce these sounds at a very low pitch called infrasound. Humans cannot hear these deep rumbles, but other elephants can detect them from 6 miles away. They use their large ears and the sensitive skin on their feet to feel these vibrations in the ground.This behavior proves that elephants have a complex communication system. They do not just make noise when they are scared. They share specific information so the whole herd knows exactly how to react to a predator.