Welcome to ElephantVoices

Visit The Elephant Ethogram - with over 3000 video clips, sounds and photos
Join ElephantVoices on a Day in Amboseli
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Learn more about why elephants are extraordinary
Watch why we should #behavemoreelephants
Help us make a difference for elephants - click on image to Donate Now!
Learn about the intricacies of the social life of elephants
Meet Dr. Joyce Poole, Co-Founder of ElephantVoices
How do elephants communicate? Sight, sound, scent, touch and vibration…
Visit the fascinating elephants in Gorongosa, Mozambique
Learn how to sex and identify African elephants
Meet Petter Granli, Co-Founder of ElephantVoices
Elephant needing your help? Find sound arguments in "Statements & Testimonies"

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Mark your calendars for Sunday, 22 March 2026 at 19:15, when a very special episode of @bbcradio3 'Between the Ears' airs. In 'Between the Ears': science journalist Laura Spinney explores a remarkable archive of elephant calls and behaviour with @elephantvoices' Joyce Poole. Together, they listen to intimate moments of birth, joy, mating, danger and death - from the elephants’ perspective - alongside Joyce’s own field-note recordings from decades of study. We really enjoyed working with Laura and producer Julian Mayers for a couple of days in December while they were here recording this episode with us. We can’t wait to hear the final program and we hope you’ll tune in and experience the world of elephants in this special way. (link in our bio) #ElephantVoices #ElephantCommunication #BetweenTheEars #BBCRadio3

Pascal is in full musth. He has been Listening and Musth-Rumbling in and beside a water hole and while feeding on grass. In this clip he begins to walk, Trunk-Dragging and Musth-Rumbles and Ear-Waves. He reaches his Trunk-Toward and sniffs the air. Then he raises it to a Periscope-Trunk. We know, in retrospect, that he is about to meet musth male Emo and likely knows Emo is close by. We are so focused on Pascal that we don't see Emo coming! After Periscope-Trunk he drops his trunk over his temporal glands in a half-hearted Head-Toss and then lets it fall onto his tusk in a Casual-Stance. He pivots 90 degrees and begins a more pronounced Musth-Walk. He has seen Emo. The behavior illustrated in this video is Trunk-Dragging: An elephant dragging the distal and outer portion of a curled trunk on the ground making a rasping sound; often leaves a continuous or intermittent snake-like mark on the ground. Musth males, particularly, may drag their trunks along the ground for long distances (3 kilometers has been observed) when Walking or Tracking another elephant; musth males and elephants of both sexes may drag their trunks on the ground as a threat at very close range. Please note this footage was taken in 2020 during filming for The Elephant Ethogram. Elephant ID: @amboseli_trust • Want to learn more about elephant behavior? Visit our website www.elephantvoices.org or click the link in our bio. • #elephantvoices #theelephantethogram #elephantbehaviour #knowyourelephants #elephant

Clearly, this was a conversation we weren’t part of. The elephants are interested in something on the ground - can you guess what it is or do you think it’s something only elephants understand? (Spoiler alert: it’s a bit yucky)

Today on #WorldWildlifeDay, we celebrate one of Earth’s most intelligent and socially complex animals: the elephant. 🐘 You might ask - why focus on elephants today? What do elephants have to do with World Wildlife Day? Elephants are a keystone species. By shaping landscapes, dispersing seeds, opening access to water, and creating habitats used by countless other animals, they help entire ecosystems. When elephants have space to thrive, biodiversity flourishes. For over 50 years, ElephantVoices has studied elephant communication, cognition, and social behavior - documenting their lives, relationships, and cultures, and revealing just how much is at stake if they are lost. Protecting elephants means protecting the web of life that depends on them. So today, we reaffirm our commitment to research, conservation, advocacy, and education - ensuring that science guides the protection of elephants as individuals and as a species, and safeguards the many species that depend on them. Your support makes our work possible! Donate today (link in bio) Thank you! #ElephantVoices #Elephants #KeystoneSpecies #Biodiversity #Conservation

You’ve probably heard us describe elephant calves as little wind-up toys - and for good reason. Just like puppies or kittens, they get the ‘zoomies,’ bursting into sudden, joyful bursts of energy. #ElephantCalf #BabyElephant

Recently, we shared that we saw Eliot during our visit to Amboseli and were struck by how much she resembled her mother, Echo. Curious to compare, we went back through our old photographs and found this one of Echo - taken almost to the day, standing in nearly the exact same spot in Ol Tukai Orok - 17 years ago. So many of you carry your own memories of Echo - through the films, the books, or the privilege of seeing her in person. She was not only an extraordinary elephant; she changed the way the world understands elephants. Through her life, and the lives of her family, she opened a window into elephant society - their emotions, family bonds, leadership, communication, behaviour, and culture. It is therefore extra special to see so much of Echo living on in her daughter, Eliot. Her legacy continues! You can learn more about Echo here: https://elephantvoices.org/component/content/article/echo-of-the-elephants or via the link in our bio. Elephant ID: @amboseli_trust #EchoOfTheElephants #ElephantLegacy #ElephantHistory #AmboseliElephants #AmboseliKenya

We need to talk about AI - artificial intelligence - and one of the scary consequences of it. Our feed is flooded with AI-generated images of elephants and other wildlife. Many gather thousands of likes, comments, and shares - a clear indication that they are being perceived as real. We are sharing some of these images and comments to show what we are talking about. They are not real images. They do not tell real stories. They are fake! These kind of posts spread misinformation and weaken the real conservation work being done by real people who are engaged in long-term research, conservation, and animal protection. @elephantvoices and our partners work to educate the public about elephants and the threats they face. This AI slop misinforms a gullible public for the sake of engagement. Conservation depends on trust. When fake images go viral, they distort public understanding and divert attention from the urgent, complex problems wildlife is actually facing. Real elephants. Real ecosystems. Real challenges. We are living through an extinction and climate crisis. Burning massive amounts of energy to generate fake wildlife imagery or video is a betrayal of the natural world. Before liking, commenting on, or sharing posts like these, pause. Take a closer look. Ask yourself whether what you see reflects reality - and remember that your engagement has consequences. Drop the AI slop! At @elephantvoices we document real behavior, tell real stories and photograph real elephants. Let’s keep the focus where it belongs. #DropTheAiSlop #RealAnimals

A mother elephant feeds in the lush swamps of Amboseli while her calf swims between and clambers over the clumps of floating papyrus. The calf is so small she is almost hidden by the vegetation! #AmboseliElephants #ElephantVoices #ElephantBehavior #AmboseliNationalPark

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