The study was carried out by university researchers Dr Lucy Bates and Professor Richard Byrne in conjunction with the Amboseli Elephant Research Project in southern Kenya. Researchers presented the animals with clean clothing and material worn by either a Masai or Kamba tribesman.

Watch: when elephants attack

When detecting the scent of a Masai, the elephants turned up their trunks to investigate the smell before stampeding away until they reached cover in the tall grass. They did not stampede when sniffing either clean clothes or those worn by Kamba tribesmen, farmers who pose little threat to the animals.

To test their reactions further, Bates and Byrne presented the elephants with red material, the same colour as the Masai's traditional costume, and plain white clothing. While the animals didn't react to the white material, the sight of the red clothing prompted them to stamp their and shake their heads in an aggressive manner.

The study, which will be published in the November issue of Current Biology, offers an intriguing glimpse into how elephants see the world and suggests that their abilities are equal to those of man's closest relatives, monkeys and apes.