Elephant Gestures

Elephant biologist and conservationist Joyce Poole describes the various elephant gestures recorded in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya.

If you’ve ever wanted to say “hello” like an elephant, now you can.

For the first time, human words and emotions are being translated into elephant calls that signal similar emotions or intentions, also dubbed “elephant language,” thanks to a new website translator.

Developed by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and ElephantVoices, the Hello in Elephant website allows people to send messages to friends, translating human phrases into elephant calls. By inputting a phrase by voice, text, or emoji, users can see a video of an elephant communicating the same greeting or emotion back to them, which can then be shared with others.

By typing “hello,” for example, the translation includes an elephant call used to greet one another.

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