The Role of Touch in the Social Interactions of Asian Elephants ( Elephas maximus)

Abstract

In order to successfully engage in social interactions, it is necessary to recognize and respond to the communicative cues provided by the other participants in these interactions. Communicative signals can occur in a variety of sensory modalities, including vision, sound, olfaction, and touch. In this study, we focus on the role of touch in the social interactions of elephants. Both aggressive and nonaggressive tactile behaviors were examined. In all cases, the body parts used to initiate tactile behaviors as well as the body parts that received these tactile behaviors were analyzed. Significant differences were seen in the overall frequency of tactile behaviors initiated and received by each elephant, as well as in the frequency of aggressive and nonaggressive tactile behaviors initiated and received by each elephant. The trunk was the body part most commonly used to initiate and receive tactile behaviors. The influence of several factors on the observed tactile behavior patterns are discussed, including the influence of social rank and movement in the social hierarchy.