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  3. High-Fiving

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High-Fiving

Two or more elephants coming together and, standing face to face, lifting and intertwining trunks above raised heads, and emitting powerful open-mouthed vocalizations. Participants may place their trunks in one another’s mouth and, in extreme cases, may press their open mouths together. High-Fiving is a component of Bonding-Ceremonies, such as Greeting-Ceremonies, Mating-Pandemoniums, Coalitions.

Media caption

In the background we see Corajosa lift her trunk in a sweeping movement - Sweep-Trunk as she seems to direct the others to action with a Perpendicular-Walk first one way and then the other.

As the clip begins she and others coalesce and she reaches her trunk out to the other leading adult female - the exhibit Head-Raising, Ear-Folding, Rapid-Ear-Flapping, Reciprocal-Trunk-to-Mouth, Open-Mouth-to-Open-Mouth and Trunk-Twining as they High-Five. Their vocalisations in the distance are covered by our own voices and the audio is not included. Then they begin a Group-Advance toward us. (Gorongosa, Mozambique)

Other examples of the behavior