'Elephant equivalent of handshake': Photograph shows calf squeezing man's nose

A mesmerizing photograph which captures the essence of human-animal communication has surfaced. Shared on Instagram by Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Kenya, the picture shows a calf elephant “proffering its trunk” in the nose of a human so as to remember his scent. Since posted on October 22, the picture has garnered over 21,800 likes and numbers are still rising.

Shot in the backdrop of the Kenyan wildlife trust, the photograph shows the “orphan” animal holding the trunk of its keeper’s nose. In the caption, they wrote that it was an “essentially the elephant equivalent of shaking hands.” Explaining further, they wrote that,  the elephant species never forgets a scent.” So, our orphans often greet their Keepers by proffering their trunks, inviting them to blow into it,” it wrote.

'What’s not to love?'

The adorable photograph has created quite a buzz on the internet. "What’s not to LOVE about these fantastic animals!?, wrote a user. While another added, “Bondeni has such a beautiful face and I’m sure he loves to greet everyone who looks after him.” Yet user joked, “ Perhaps if l pull hard enough, you too can have a trunk like mine!!!”

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While this baby elephant seems subtle, a video shared by Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Susanta Nanda shows an elephant playing with buffalo in the wilds. In the video, a 'naughty elephant' can be seen playfully kicking one of the buffalos sitting quietly and minding its own business. 

The video is so adorable that it has managed to garner over 8,700 views since it was shared two hours ago by Susanta on Twitter. Netizens are in awe of the elephant and it's playful nature as one user wrote, "Love how he boinked and ran away." Another user jokingly commented, "another elephant must have dared this fellow to do that, for 100 bananas!"

Image:sheldricktrust/Instagram