@mybarkingdogs@ohai.social @futurebird don’t sleep on elephants. Sophisticated social structures, problem solving, emotional range, memory, tool use, communication capacity, etc. But their long lives give them an advantage as a contender for progressing into a civilization as we know it over most birds, octopi, and smaller mammals. Like, an octopus lives 1-5 years, a raven 10-15, a prairie dog 3-4, a raccoon 2-3, bonobos 40, chimps 33, dolphins 40-60, but African elephants 60-70.