The naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon cited this flexibility of purpose as evidence that elephants were capable of "human reasoning, than a simple, natural instinct".
Naturvidenskabsmanden Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon nævnte det som bevis på, at elefanter var i stand til "menneskelig ræsonnement, end et simpelt, naturligt instinkt".