TPO 51

The reading passage asserts that humans have been interested in elephants for a long time, which led them to have some beliefs about elephants' behaviors. Afterward, the reading passage proceeds to give three examples of these beliefs. The lecturer, however, asserts that these beliefs are made from some misunderstandings of elephants' behaviors and casts doubt on them.

First, the author explains that bones of elderly elephants had been discovered in locations often near bodies of water, and made humans believe that elderly elephants are aware of it when they are about to die, so they leave their herds to be alone. The lecturer, however, states that there is a practical reason why old elephants do this. They find eating harder because chewing is harder for them than younger elephants, so they go to some places that are near bodies of water because those places have softer vegetation, and they eventually die in those places.

Furthermore, the author states that elephants seem to have artistic ability because they can be taught by humans how to hold a paintbrush in their trunks and paint things on a canvas. Conversely, the lecturer explains that elephants can not learn how to draw. They have sensitive ears, and humans use this fact to make them draw and paint recognizable things. She explains that while an elephant holds a paintbrush, a person touches the elephant's ears in ways that make the elephant draws certain lines. That person keeps doing this until the elephant draws something recognizable.

Finally, the author states that elephants are afraid of mice and support this idea by talking about a recent scientific experiment. The lecturer opposes this idea and explains that elephants are fear of things that are unfamiliar to them, so they are not afraid of mice themselves but because mice are not familiar to them at first. She then explains how elephants who live in zoos do not react to mice because mice are not unfamiliar to them, and do not seem like threats to them.