Humans pride themselves on what they think is a unique ability to consciously produce sophisticated art, music and literature
But chimps and elephants paint images, and this video from Japan
is claimed to be the first showing a baby elephant being "taught" to paint by its parents.
Shot at the Ichihara Elephant Kingdom near Tokyo, it shows one-year-old Yumeka adding the finishing touches to what appears to be a flower. The zoo manager says that although many elephants have been taught to paint by humans, Yumeka began to show talent for painting without training.
But the big question remains: are the elephants consciously attempting to reproduce a remembered image of an object, or just prodding a paintbrush randomly onto a canvas to receive a reward, in this case a shower?
Elephants certainly show a range of intelligent behaviour and even emotions. Along with gorillas, chimpanzees and other great apes, for example, elephants appear to have "theory of mind"
, the knowledge that other creatures are sentient and capable of thinking for themselves.
They even appear to grieve for the dead
, showing a greater interest in elephant skulls, for example, than in skulls of other animals.
Since they recognise their own reflection in a mirror, they have self-awareness. But do they have enough savvy, memory of objects and coordination to consciously paint pre-selected pictures?
It is just about accepted that chimps can paint pictures, and an exhibition of ape art went on show in 2005 at the Osaka University for Arts in Japan
But if you're unsure about Yumeka's talents, here's a clip
of an elephant apparently painting another elephant.
For my money, that's a man wearing a false elephant trunk on his arm.Andy Coghlan, reporter