Like all highly social mammals elephants have a well-developed system of communication that makes use of all of their senses - hearing, smell, vision and touch - including an exceptional ability to detect vibrations.

Acoustic communication takes a look at sound production and hearing in elephants; chemical communication explains how elephants use various secretions and their acute sense of smell to communicate; visual communication looks at how elephants make use of postures and displays and their sense of sight in communication; tactile communication describes how elephants make use of their sense of touch to communicate.

At one end of the spectrum elephants communicate by rubbing their bodies against one another, at the other end they may respond by moving toward the sounds of other elephants calling, perhaps 10 kilometers away. They convey information about their physiological (e.g. sexual/hormonal, body condition, identity) and emotional state (e.g. whether they are fearful, playful, joyful, angry, excited) as well as communicating specific "statements" about their intentions or desires. In this section we look at how elephants use the different pathways of communication and the actual mechanics of communicating.

You will in the fully searchable database The Elephant Ethogram: A Library of African Elephant Behavior find close to 300 fully described elephant sounds with spectrograms, together with 2,400 educational video clips showing categorized elephant behaviors and behavior constellations and hundreds of images. The below slideshow take you through a limited number of the over 400 Behaviors and Behavioral Constellations included in The Elephant Ethogram - click on any image to find further documentation.

  • Mating-Pandemonium
    Mating-Pandemonium
  • Rear-Guard
    Rear-Guard
  • Let's-Go-Rumble
    Let's-Go-Rumble
  • Double-Suckling
    Double-Suckling
  • Begging-Rumble
    Begging-Rumble
  • Contact-Rumble
    Contact-Rumble
  • Pulsated-Trumpet
    Pulsated-Trumpet
  • Social-Trumpet
    Social-Trumpet
  • Trunk-Twining
    Trunk-Twining
  • Ear-Secretion
    Ear-Secretion
  • Head-High
    Head-High
  • Roaring-Rumble
    Roaring-Rumble
  • Head-Toss
    Head-Toss
  • Guarding
    Guarding
  • Solicit-Food
    Solicit-Food
  • Play-Trumpet
    Play-Trumpet
  • Jolt
    Jolt
  • Sparring
    Sparring
  • Trunk-Tuck
    Trunk-Tuck
  • Suckle-Face
    Suckle-Face
  • Kick-Back
    Kick-Back
  • Head-Waggling
    Head-Waggling
  • Shepherding
    Shepherding
  • Phalanx
    Phalanx
  • Mud-Splashing
    Mud-Splashing
  • Solicit-Suckling
    Solicit-Suckling
  • Separated-Rumble
    Separated-Rumble
  • Tusk-Ground
    Tusk-Ground
  • V8-Rumble
    V8-Rumble
  • Grumble-Rumble
    Grumble-Rumble
  • Silly-Trunk
    Silly-Trunk
  • Submerge
    Submerge
  • Bite-Trunk
    Bite-Trunk
  • Maintain-Proximity
    Maintain-Proximity
  • Trunk-Sucking
    Trunk-Sucking
  • Female-Chorus-Rumble
    Female-Chorus-Rumble
  • Casual-Stance
    Casual-Stance
  • Musth-Rumble
    Musth-Rumble
  • Estrous-Roar
    Estrous-Roar
  • Solicit-Play
    Solicit-Play
  • As-Touched-Rumble
    As-Touched-Rumble
  • Tail-Swatting
    Tail-Swatting
  • Head-Raising
    Head-Raising
  • Trunk-To-Genitals
    Trunk-To-Genitals
  • Yawn
    Yawn
  • Group-March
    Group-March
  • Test-Substrate
    Test-Substrate
  • Rumble-Roar
    Rumble-Roar
  • Trunk-Bounce
    Trunk-Bounce
  • Circus-Pose
    Circus-Pose
  • Cry-Rumble
    Cry-Rumble
  • Legs-Crossed
    Legs-Crossed
  • Purposeful-Walk
    Purposeful-Walk
  • Tail-Raising
    Tail-Raising
  • Head-Shaking
    Head-Shaking
  • Tusking
    Tusking
  • Look-Back
    Look-Back
  • J-Trunk
    J-Trunk
  • Strip-Bark
    Strip-Bark
  • Grasp-Leg
    Grasp-Leg
  • Kick-Dust
    Kick-Dust
  • Urine-Dribbling
    Urine-Dribbling
  • Ear-Waving
    Ear-Waving
  • Musth-Temporal-Gland-Swelling
    Musth-Temporal-Gland-Swelling
  • Strip-Branch
    Strip-Branch
  • Trunk-Curl-Squeeze-Rip-Grass
    Trunk-Curl-Squeeze-Rip-Grass
  • Snorkel
    Snorkel
  • Rest-Head
    Rest-Head
  • Ear-Lifting
    Ear-Lifting
  • Alarmed-Trumpet
    Alarmed-Trumpet
  • Ear-Folding
    Ear-Folding
  • Sheltering
    Sheltering
  • Trunk-Dragging
    Trunk-Dragging
  • Cadenced-Rumble
    Cadenced-Rumble
  • Bend-Down-Bite-Vegetation
    Bend-Down-Bite-Vegetation
  • Procession
    Procession
  • Allo-Check-Tusk
    Allo-Check-Tusk
  • Waiting
    Waiting
  • Trunk-Sweep
    Trunk-Sweep
  • Chin-Up
    Chin-Up
  • Sniff-Ground
    Sniff-Ground
  • Little-Greeting
    Little-Greeting
  • Helping
    Helping
  • Foot-Forward
    Foot-Forward
  • Head-Dip-Touch-Ground
    Head-Dip-Touch-Ground
  • Resting-Trunk
    Resting-Trunk
  • Musth-Walk
    Musth-Walk
  • Forward-Trunk-Swing
    Forward-Trunk-Swing
  • Dusting
    Dusting
  • Suckle-Stance
    Suckle-Stance
  • Adorn-Body
    Adorn-Body
  • Social-Rubbing
    Social-Rubbing
  • Husky-Cry
    Husky-Cry
  • Horizontal-Trunk
    Horizontal-Trunk
  • Ear-Brush
    Ear-Brush
  • Ear-Spreading
    Ear-Spreading
  • Open-Mouth
    Open-Mouth
  • Attain-Higher-Ground
    Attain-Higher-Ground
  • Trumpet-Blast
    Trumpet-Blast
  • Touch-Wound
    Touch-Wound
  • Trunk-To-Infant-At-Breast
    Trunk-To-Infant-At-Breast
  • Head-Dip
    Head-Dip
  • Bow-Neck-Advance-Toward
    Bow-Neck-Advance-Toward
  • Comment-Rumble
    Comment-Rumble
  • Tracking
    Tracking
  • Exaggerated-Walk
    Exaggerated-Walk
  • Contemplating
    Contemplating
  • Rumble-Snort-Rumble
    Rumble-Snort-Rumble
  • Roar
    Roar
  • Panic-Running
    Panic-Running
  • Pushing
    Pushing
  • Bathing
    Bathing
  • Bonding-Rumble
    Bonding-Rumble
  • Trunk-Twisting
    Trunk-Twisting
  • Trunk-To-Mouth
    Trunk-To-Mouth
  • Flehmen
    Flehmen
  • Rub-Off-Dirt
    Rub-Off-Dirt
  • Sweep-Off-Dirt
    Sweep-Off-Dirt
  • Estrous-Rumble
    Estrous-Rumble
  • Perpendicular-Walk
    Perpendicular-Walk
  • Listening
    Listening
  • Protest-Trumpet
    Protest-Trumpet
  • Drinking
    Drinking
  • Standing-Tall
    Standing-Tall
  • Coo-Rumble
    Coo-Rumble
  • Nasal-Trumpet
    Nasal-Trumpet
  • Rumble-Roar-Rumble
    Rumble-Roar-Rumble
  • Mud-Wallowing
    Mud-Wallowing
  • Kneel-Down
    Kneel-Down
  • Play-Trumpet
    Play-Trumpet
  • Climb-Upon
    Climb-Upon