A mutual entwining of trunks. Trunk-Twining occurs in Social Play as a gentle contact form of Sparring, during which two elephants slowly and sinuously intertwine their trunks in a spiral. Trunk-Twining also occurs during Coalition Building and Affiliative contexts during High-Fiving and in a range of Bonding-Ceremonies between adult females, where the action can be more sudden and dramatic. In some cases the intertwining of trunks can be more like a sudden clasping of another’s trunk.
Adult males gm0016 and gm0049 are Sparring and are seen to engage in following behaviors: Trunk-Twining, Trunk-to-Mouth, Allo-Check-Tusk (both to the other several times), Touch-Self, Touch-Trunk-Tips. (Gorongosa, Mozambique)
