Purposeful-Walking by a lead female that aims perpendicular to, rather than directly toward, a predator or perceived threat. The head is held high or in a Bow-Neck (see Bow-Neck and Bow-Neck-Charge) posture and tilted slightly toward her adversary. This behavior is a good predictor of escalation - an Advance-Toward, Group-Advance, Charge or Group-Charge. The elephant typically Walks beyond its adversary and then pivots or Pirouettes sharply and Charges.
Matriarch gf0073 and her family are in the forest as we drive up. This is the first time we have seen this family and they are very agitated, Bunching and Standing-Tall. The original footage contains a long sequence of very interesting behavior that leads to the point where the clips starts.
gf0073 enters the scene from the right doing a Perpendicular-Walk and we hear a rumble. She takes 12 perpendicular steps before she adds a Bow-Neck, turns and begins a silent Bow-Neck-Charge. She Trunk-Drag-Bounce as she comes closer. She runs 10 paces toward us in the Bow-Neck posture. She Sashays as she reach within a couple meters of the car. The video and audio are difficult to include as she almost hits the vehicle. (Gorongosa, Mozambique)
