Elephants separated by fence at Tennessee sanctuary meet for 1st time. See sweet video
In their first time meeting trunk-to-trunk, two elephants at a Tennessee sanctuary shared a heartwarming symbol of their friendship to come.
The elephants, Jana and Nosey, met for the first time without a fence keeping them apart in an Oct. 2 Facebook video from The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.
“This moment has been long anticipated, as they have spent many weeks building their comfort with each other through a protective fence barrier,” the post says.
The two elephants have somewhat contrasting personalities — Jana exhibits a “dominant and spirited nature” while Nosey is known for a “more gentle and nurturing disposition,” the post says.
As a result of Jana’s more outgoing nature, she approached Nosey first in the video.
Then, in a “symbolic gesture of acceptance and trust,” Nosey backed into Jana slowly, offering her backside. This allows the animals to become more familiar with each other, the post says, a promising development in their relationship.
In addition to slowly backing up as a greeting, elephants also place their trunks in each other’s mouths, flap their ears or blow out of their trunks, according to the HERD Trust.
For the rest of the video, the pair wandered around their enclosure together, “savoring the taste” of the new fall season.
Jana, born in 1980 in South Africa, and Nosey, born in 1982 in Zimbabwe, are two of the Tennessee organization’s six African elephants, according to the sanctuary’s website.
There are also five Asian elephants at the sanctuary, according to the website.
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