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After engaging in a bout of Flehmen, musth male Pascal catches up with Wissal of the WB family, the estrous female he is Guarding. She has been Waiting for him. He walks toward her with a Head-High and Chin-In posture. The behavior illustrated in this video is Chin-In: A male in musth Standing or Walking with his head held well above his shoulders, and his “chin” or jaw held “tucked in” toward the neck. Chin-In is a component of the Musth-Walk and Musth-Constellation. Elephant ID: @amboseli_trust To learn more about elephant behavior visit The Elephant Ethogram via the link in our bio. #theelephantethogram #elephantvoices #conservation #elephants

It may seem that the fight against the trophy hunting of Amboseli’s elephants has hit a standstill, but rest assured, we are actively working to put a stop to it before the quota is set and licenses are sold for the next season. In collaboration with our partners, we are looking ahead and trying to find a solution. We will share any information as and when we have it. We have noticed a lot of misinformation on social media. We encourage you to reach out to us directly if you have any questions and not to feed into the rumours circulating online. We understand that many of you feel frustrated and powerless. Once again, here is how you can contribute: - ⁠Keep spreading awareness about this ongoing situation. - Contact Kenyan and Tanzanian Ambassadors to your country to voice your concern and demand action against the trophy hunting of these cross border elephants. Every voice counts! - If you have connections within the media, use them! Reach out to journalists and reporters, put them in touch with us so we can shed light on this critical issue. Thank you for your continued support.

“There is a chasm of consciousness between those who would shoot an elephant and those who would labor to keep them safe. The elephant hunters would claim that we just don’t understand natural law and the primordial impulse that can only be addressed by killing. And we would answer “no, by God, we do not.” No rational person could ever comprehend the mindless destruction of nature’s most iconic creations.” We highly recommend you read this powerful essay by Billy Dodson (@savannaimages) on the killing of the Amboseli males in northern Tanzania by trophy hunters. (link in bio) *The only point missing is that now a total of 5 elephants have been killed. #notyourtrophy #handsoffourelephants #killingisnotconservation #endtrophyhunting

Here is another video from The Elephant Ethogram of Amboseli males TeeJay and Gordon taken in 2020. During an Escalated-Contest between Tee-Jay and Gordon they engage in 3 Parallel-Walks as they maneuver around one another, before Dueling. The behavior illustrated in this video is Parallel-Walk: Two males, typically in musth, pacing in parallel to one another in a Purposeful-Walk often in a lead up to or during an Escalated-Contest. The contestants typically place a road, log or other ‘barrier’ between them and may engage in a variety of musth displays. Elephant ID: @amboseli_trust To learn more about elephant behavior visit The Elephant Ethogram via the link in our bio. #theelephantethogram #elephantvoices #conservation #elephants

Tanzania’s reputation is already on thin ice. The forceful eviction of the Maasai from their ancestral lands in Loliondo has drawn international scrutiny. According to @amnesty security forces employed brutal tactics to make way for a private company’s “tourism ventures” (read: trophy hunting). The @guardian reports that the @worldbank suspended financing aimed at developing tourism in southern Tanzania, due to government abuses of human rights. The trophy hunting in Tanzania of elephants from the cross border Amboseli population has exacerbated the fragile situation, prompting a growing number of calls for a tourism boycott of Tanzania.

Well, well, well…someone has clearly been tusking the ground. Tusk-Ground: Bending or kneeling down and tusking the ground and, often, uplifting clods of soil and vegetation. When elephants engage in Mud-Wallowing they often Tusk-Ground. This is particularly true of Mud-Wallowing musth males who will engage in an exaggerated form of Tusk-Ground along with other components of a musth male display. In an Aggressive context Tusk-Ground is seen in the manoeuvring between two males during an Escalated-Contest, apparently as a demonstration of ‘look what I will do with you’. You can learn more about this behavior on The Elephant Ethogram via the link in our bio. #theelephantethogram #elephantvoices #conservation #elephants

Today is 'Save the Elephant Day', a global initiative dedicated to raising awareness about elephants and advocating for their protection and conservation. We can't think of a better way to celebrate elephants than to learn more about their behaviour and communication. In 2021, ElephantVoices launched The Elephant Ethogram: a uniquely detailed catalogue, or library, of the behavior and communication of African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana). It is based on decades of ElephantVoices behavioral studies, photographs, and audio and video recordings, the referenced research of other elephant biologists, as well as professional and amateur footage made available to ElephantVoices. It consists of written and referenced descriptions, video examples, photographic illustrations and, where relevant, audio recordings, of 322 Behaviors, 103 Behavioral Constellations and 23 Behavioral Contexts. There are close to 3,000 media files in the fully searchable Elephant Ethogram including 2,408 video clips. We will continue to focus on the Amboseli males, so here is a video from The Elephant Ethogram of Tim (and Craig) taken in 2019. Tim was grazing with male companions on the edge of Amboseli National Park. He was not in musth but he Ear-Waved at us a few times and these were associated with half-hearted Musth-Rumbles. In this clip he Ear-Waves and gives a short Musth-Rumble as he approaches our car. A few days later he was in full musth and had left his companions in favor of family groups. The behavior illustrated in this video is Ear-Wave: A musth male swings the upper portion of the ear stiffly and vigorously forward and backward. The speed and forcefulness of the swinging causes the lower, unsupported portion of the pinnae to flap even further forward and backward and upward. The motion creates a wave appearance across the ear. Ear-Waving is typically associated with Musth-Rumbling and may serve to waft scent of Musth-Temporal-Gland-Secretion toward other elephants. To learn more about elephant behavior visit The Elephant Ethogram via the link in out bio. #theelephantethogram #elephantvoices #conservation #elephants #savetheelephantday

In light of the ongoing trophy hunting of the Amboseli elephants in Tanzania, we want to highlight the behavior of males, their importance in elephant society and the unique challenges they face. (Post 5/6). Rank among non-musth males is determined by size and strength, with larger, older males generally dominant to younger males. Musth, however, is an elephant’s wild card because, typically, males in musth out-rank all non-musth males. Since the musth periods of males are asynchronous - each male being on his own particular sexual cycle - musth inserts an element of uncertainty and surprise into male-male relationships. Young males in musth sometimes go out of their way to threaten older and larger non-musth males who are normally their senior. Another factor that comes into play is body condition. Musth drains energy and reduces weight. Fights between males occur when males are unsure of their rank relative to one another. Serious fights can be life threatening and males do not enter them without assessing their odds very carefully. Males, therefore, put significant energy into both signalling their elevated musth status and body condition to other males and likewise monitoring the shifting status of others. They advertise their state by leaving a trail of urine, secreting from their temporal glands and vocalizing with musth-rumbles. They monitor other males by testing and tracking their urine trails and listening for their rumbles. Using these signals males can either avoid or seek out their rivals. Musth males have higher status and mating success, prompting the question why younger males don't enter musth. Musth serves as honest advertising; musth males are more aggressive towards each other, and being in musth requires readiness for challenges. Younger males prioritize putting energy into growth rather than into musth, while older males, no longer growing rapidly, can allocate more energy to sustained musth periods. 📷: @selengei #notyourtrophy #handsoffourelephants #killingisnotconservation #endtrophyhunting

For thousands of years elephants have experienced one of the more exploitative relationships with humankind of any wild species. In recent decades, detailed study has taught us that elephants are socially complex, self-aware individuals, who possess distinct histories, personalities and interests, and are capable of suffering.

One of our goals is to use our knowledge to speak up for the interest of elephants - to be a voice for these magnificent animals. We educate via scientific and popular articles, lectures, TV documentaries, radio broadcasts as well as via our website and social media. We speak out on behalf of elephants through publications, interviews, expert statements and testimony, or in court, where necessary.

Our overall priority, expressed in our Advocacy Policy, is to take initiatives where we have expertise and on issues where we can have the broadest influence on the protection of elephants.