However, many species engage in close contact olfactory assessments of conspecifics which, considering the potential risks of close proximity, even tactile contact between individuals, may also overlap with other social messages tests of dominance, relationship strength, or willingness to interact. Often, owing to the ability for chemical cues and signals to remain long after the depositor has departed, such communication can occur remotely between individuals, for example, in scent marking of territory and sexual advertising. Our results suggest male African elephants use close contact trunk-to-SEO behaviours continuously over time, to facilitate positive relationships, test willingness to interact, and assess aspects of phenotype, between males occupying the same ecological space.Ĭhemical products released by animals play an important role in communication in animal societies. Age-mates may be preferentially targeted with these behaviours as a means to facilitate further interaction with partners (e.g., for sparring activity), or as a safe way to assess relative dominance rank in similarly aged and hence, size and strength, matched dyads. We also found no evidence that males directed these behaviours preferentially to new individuals they encountered at male aggregations (compared to those they arrived in groups with), suggesting these behaviours are not primarily employed by males as a reunion display to establish relationships between new individuals or update relationships between familiar individuals separated over time. Elephants younger than 26 years did not direct trunk-to-SEO behaviours to mature bulls (26+ years) more than expected by chance, suggesting these behaviours are not primarily used for younger males to establish contact with, or obtain information from or about older, more experienced individuals. Male elephants of all ages, except older adolescents aged 16–20 years, preferentially targeted elephants of the same age class for trunk-to-SEO behaviours. Here, we explore whether the age and novelty of potential interactors affect the choice of individuals targeted by male African elephants for these trunks to scent emitting organ (SEO) behaviours at social hotspots in a male-dominated area. Along with its inherent tactile element, these behaviours also likely provide olfactory information to actors concerning aspects of the target’s phenotype, including sexual status, feeding history, individual identity, and emotional state. Such behaviours are often referred to as “greetings”. In male-male elephant communication, these behaviours likely function to facilitate further positive interaction, or assess aspects of phenotype between similar aged males occupying the same ecological space, rather than as a reunion display.Ī common behavioural interaction between male African elephants is for an actor to direct his trunk to contact a same sex conspecific’s mouth, temporal gland, or genital region. All males, apart from older adolescents preferably greeted age-matched males. Adolescents greeted at higher rates than adults. Despite considerable mixing of new potential interactors, in a system with high fission-fusion dynamics, we found no evidence that males preferentially targeted elephants met new at aggregations with greetings. We analysed trunk-mediated greetings performed by different aged male elephants at aggregations in an all-male area. Such behaviours are often labelled as greetings, and in addition to being gestural and tactile signals, may simultaneously enable olfactory assessment of aspects of the target male’s phenotype. A common behaviour in male elephants is for a male to direct his trunk to a same-sex conspecific’s mouth, temporal gland, or genitals. For example, these multimodal signals can function to test bonds, promote cooperation, or facilitate further positive interactions between individuals, as well as to ease tension and update uncertain relationships at reunion events. Despite our common connotations with the term “greeting”, such behaviours in non-human societies are not exclusively employed in the context of reunion.
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