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A medium sized adult male has been engaging in Tusk-Ground for more than 2 minutes. He comes out and gives a Head-Toss. The behavior illustrated in this video is Head-Toss: As performed by a musth male, raising and lowering the head or lifting and swinging head and trunk with vigor, sometimes in figure-of-eight movement. This display is occasionally seen in combination with a Trunk-Curl. In its most intense form the musth male bends his back legs and lowers the hind portion of his body causing the head and trunk to be raised even higher. Less exaggerated forms may be observed in non-musth elephants. • Want to learn more about elephant behavior? Visit our website www.elephantvoices.org or click the link in our bio. • #elephantvoices #theelephantethogram #elephantbehaviour #knowyourelephants #elephant

The behavior illustrated in this photograph is Phalanx: A group of elephants advancing threateningly toward an adversary in a tight formation with a broad front. • Want to learn more about elephant behavior? Visit our website www.elephantvoices.org or click the link in our bio. • #elephantvoices #theelephantethogram #elephantbehaviour #knowyourelephants #elephant

Repost from @natgeo | #SecretsOfTheElephants The Savanna episode features ElephantVoices' Scientific Director, Dr. Joyce Poole. For several decades, Dr. Joyce Poole has been eavesdropping on elephant families to try to understand what they are saying to one another. Elephants are extremely intelligent and sociable creatures, relying on communication to maintain close bonds and the social ties across their unusually large network. You can stream #SecretsOfTheElephants on @disneyplus and @hulu.

The behavior illustrated in this photograph is Head-Shaking: An abrupt shaking of the head, which causes the ears to flap sharply and dust to fly. Head-Shaking usually starts by the elephant twisting the head to one side and then rapidly rotating it from side to side. The ears slap against the side of the face or neck making a loud smacking sound. Head-Shaking occurs in a broad range of contexts. It can be a sign of an individual's annoyance with or disapproval of an individual or circumstance. It can be used as a threat to other elephants or in confrontations with predators, as well as in play in feign annoyance. It also occurs during intense social events such as Greeting-Ceremonies or the arrival of an awaited individual. Head-Shaking may also occur after a longish period of contemplation - as if the individual has considered something and the Head-Shake is an outward expression of those feelings. Head-Shaking also typically follows a bout of mud-splashing or mud wallowing. This behavior is observed in all age/sex groups except during Affiliative bonding behavior in which it is limited to female adults, adolescents, juveniles and calves. • Want to learn more about elephant behavior? Visit our website www.elephantvoices.org or click the link in our bio. • #elephantvoices #theelephantethogram #elephantbehaviour #knowyourelephants #elephant

Happy deserved to live an elephant’s life surrounded by family and friends - not alone and imprisoned in a noisy human city. The Bronx Zoo kept her there out of sheer stubbornness, unwilling to acknowledge mounting concerns about her welfare or appear to yield to public pressure. In doing so, its administration tarnished the reputation of the Wildlife Conservation Society and ignored the overwhelming scientific evidence - including the expertise of its own conservationists - that elephants cannot thrive in isolation and confinement. Liberty mattered to Happy just as freedom matters to us. She was not a thing for humans to use, but an individual with her own interests, desires, and capacity to suffer. The @nonhuman.rights.project’s groundbreaking lawsuit on her behalf forced New York’s highest court to confront a profound question: does an elephant have a legal right to liberty? Happy never received the freedom she deserved. Yet her story transformed hearts and minds around the world, exposing the injustice of elephant captivity and inspiring a growing movement for change. Today, we join @nonhuman.rights.project and #RememberHappy, honoring her legacy by continuing the fight for justice and freedom for captive elephants everywhere.

The behavior illustrated in this photograph is Climb-Upon: A calf clambering onto another calf or juvenile who is lying down. A calf or juvenile lying down, or getting down on its knees, is an invitation to younger individuals to climb on top. Young elephants enjoy this game of Climb-Upon and, in a big pile, they typically wiggle, squirm and kick out with their legs. • Want to learn more about elephant behavior? Visit our website www.elephantvoices.org or click the link in our bio. • #elephantvoices #theelephantethogram #elephantbehaviour #knowyourelephants #elephant

The behavior illustrated in this photograph is Sweep-off-Dirt: Grasping a clump of grass with the trunk and sweeping it up and against the ridges on the underside of the trunk to remove the soil clinging to its roots. Alternatively, holding the clump in the trunk and sweeping is against the chest, between the fore-legs. We are not sure what age this technique is acquired. • Want to learn more about elephant behavior? Visit our website www.elephantvoices.org or click the link in our bio. • #elephantvoices #theelephantethogram #elephantbehaviour #knowyourelephants #elephant

The behavior illustrated in this photograph is Waiting: Standing idly, lingering, loitering until other elephants either catch up or are alerted to the signallers attempt to initiate movement; contextually this posture is obvious as the Waiting individual is attentive (engaging in behaviors such as J-Trunk, Eye-Blinking, Ears-Stiff), often glancing back over her shoulder (Look-Back), and/or checking the others' activity by sniffing, listening and looking, and indicating her impatience by taking a few desultory steps and pausing again - Walk-Wait. This behaviour occurs in a number of different contexts. In a Calf Reassurance & Protection context, mothers and allomothers are often seen Waiting for infants and calves; in a Courtship context, Consorting musth male and estrous female are observed to Wait for one another in order to maintain a certain proximity, to prevent other males from Mating. In a Movement Space & Leadership context, elephants of all age/sex groups Wait for one another to keep the family or group together. • Want to learn more about elephant behavior? Visit our website www.elephantvoices.org or click the link in our bio. • #elephantvoices #theelephantethogram #elephantbehaviour #knowyourelephants #elephant

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