Nasal-Throb

A throbbing or fluttering movement in the forehead of an elephant at the position where the nasal passages enter the skull (located in the center of the forehead just above the eyes), which occurs when air is pulsating through the nasal passages. This is particularly visible when a large adult male gives a deep throbbing Musth-Rumble. In some cases dust on the forehead can be dislodged by the movement and become airborne. Occasionally throbbing of the forehead can be detected when an adult female Rumbles. This fluttering is more apparent in Asian elephants who have a prominant bulge at the location where the nasal passages enter the skull. 

References: Payne et al 1986, Poole & Granli 2021. (Full reference list)

This behavior occurs in the following context(s): Advertisement & Attraction, Affiliative, Courtship

Nasal-Throb

Context: Advertisement & Attraction (1)

Rui is in musth and Mud-Splashing. He pauses in his splashing to Listen - Freezing and Ears-Stiff and with his trunk held in a J-Trunk position. He Ear-Folds and gives a barely audible Musth-Rumble. We can tell his is Musth-Rumbling by his behavior and by the throbbing of his nasal-passages. (Gorongosa, Mozambique)

Nasal-Throb

Context: Advertisement & Attraction (2)

Icarus is in musth and Mud-Splashing. He pauses in his splashing to give a barely audible Musth-Rumble. We can see the air throb or pulsate through his nasal-passages. (Amboseli, Kenya)

Nasal-Throb

Context: Advertisement & Attraction (3)

Icarus is in musth and Feeding. He keeps pausing to Listen and then Ear-Waves and Musth-Rumbles. As he Musth-Rumbles we see the air throb or pulsate through his nasal-passages in his forehead. The Musth-Rumbles are not audible in the clip because the infrasound recorder was not working and the other microphone had a low-frequency cut-off, but you can hear Joyce say ''Musth-Rumble'' after she heard it. Note that there is light aircraft flying nearby and this may have been what he was Listening to and Musth-Rumbling about. (Amboseli, Kenya)

Nasal-Throb

Context: Advertisement & Attraction (4)

Icarus is in musth and Feeding. He keeps pausing to Listen and then Ear-Waves and Musth-Rumbles. As he Musth-Rumbles we see the air throb or pulsate through his nasal-passages in his forehead. The Musth-Rumble in this clip is not audible because the infrasound recorder was not working and the other microphone had a low-frequency cut-off, but occurs as he Ear-Waves. Note that there is light aircraft flying nearby and this may have been what he was Listening to and Musth-Rumbling about. (Amboseli, Kenya)

Nasal-Throb

Context: Advertisement & Attraction (5)

Icarus is in musth and Feeding. He keeps pausing to Listen and then Ear-Waves and Musth-Rumbles. As he Musth-Rumbles we see the air throb or pulsate through his nasal-passages in his forehead. The Musth-Rumbles in this clip is not audible because the infrasound recorder was not working and the other microphone had a low-frequency cut-off, but occurs as he Ear-Waves.

Note that there is light aircraft flying nearby and this may have been what he was Listening to and Musth-Rumbling about. In this clip you can see the Nasal-Throb three times as he Ear-Waves. I comment on his Musth-Rumbling and Listening. (Amboseli, Kenya)

Nasal-Throb

Context: Advertisement & Attraction (6)

Musth male X004 walks toward Longinye in a Musth-Walk - Head-High, Ears-Stiff, Chin-In and with a purposeful gait. As he approaches our car he threatens us with a Musth-Rumble and by turning to Look-At us. The loud kanunk sound is part of the Musth-Rumble and is associated with a Nasal-Throb. (Amboseli, Kenya)

Nasal-Throb

Context: Novel & Idiosyncratic (1)

This young male has been Standing next to our car for over 9 minutes. He has been playing with a couple of stones. In this clip he engages in a couple of idiosyncratic sounds. First, he breathes very purposefully out and then purposefully in, making loud breathing sounds. Then he puts his trunk into his mouth and makes a sound like a Paryngeal-Pouch-Suck as if sucking water from the back of his throat into his trunk and moving it around.

His trunk hangs in an elongated look and he moves it about making Squelching type sounds. Then he removes the tip of his trunk and lays it on the ground with the fingers pinched together. He continues to make Squelching sounds and then exhales through the pinched trunk fingers making a high-frequency-sound like a Squeak. Then he blows forcefully and water is blown out of the tip of his trunk. (Amboseli, Kenya)