Although elephants are far more distantly related to us than the great apes, they seem to have evolved similar social and cognitive capacities.
Frans de WaalA chimpanzee who is really gearing up for a fight doesn't waste time with gestures but just goes ahead and attacks.
Frans de WaalIf both parties have a stake in the other, the chances of them killing each other are going to be reduced.
Frans de WaalMost exotic animals are not particularly interested in people, which makes it hard to provoke them. Human-rearing gets them used to and sometimes imprinted on humans, which makes them potentially dangerous.
Frans de Waal