Trunk-Sweep

An exaggerated form of Periscope-Trunk in which lead individuals in a family use a dramatic, highly visible, repeated sweeping movement of the entire trunk, down, outstretched, up, outstretched and down, which serves to galvanise members of their group into a Coalition to confront a threat. Trunk-Sweep is associated with Purposeful-Walking, often of the form Perpendicular-Walk. Our observations suggest that this behavior is a purposeful signal to others, a call to action. This behavior is prominently observed among lead females in a family and occurs during Coalition Building and Mobbing & Attacking contexts.

References: Poole & Granli 2021. (Full reference list)

This behavior occurs in the following context(s): Calf Reassurance & Protection, Coalition Building