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Guille Puts Her Trunk In Everyone’s Mouth

As we talked about last week, Guillermina is expressing some of her childlike behaviors within a remarkably patient group of elephants. She may occasionally try their patience, but mostly in innocent ways. Lately, after the group eats, Guille will walk from elephant to elephant, just being social; she greets them, touches, smells, and sometimes sticks her trunk in their mouths. It’s probably good that she moves along fairly quickly so that no one elephant gets overwhelmed by her excitement. 

For Guillermina, putting her trunk in another elephant’s mouth is not necessarily an attempt to steal food. In some cases, elephants might be looking for snacks, but Guille seems to be more curious about the individuals than their food. Elephants have something called Jacobson’s Organ, a patch of sensory cells located on the roof of their mouths that gives off lots of information – much of which only they understand. What Guillermina is doing is one of many methods of elephant communication. While there’s no way to know exactly what the organ is “telling” Guille, she hasn’t been dissuaded from continuing her explorations.

Photo of Guillermina with her trunk in Pocha’s mouth

Comments(16)

  1. REPLY
    Lori says
    July 17, 2022 at 2:08 pm

    Just precious and in love with all of their behaviors! Thank you for saving these beautiful animals and giving them a life of peace and freedom.

  2. REPLY
    Pam says
    July 17, 2022 at 2:10 pm

    I love this teaching, woven into another great Guillermina story! So fascinating. The more I learn about elephants and their ways, the more respect and love I have for these amazing beings. Thank you for this post.

  3. REPLY
    Susan Flewelling says
    July 17, 2022 at 2:11 pm

    That sweet girl will be wanting a tattoo soon!

    • REPLY
      Kat Blais says
      July 17, 2022 at 5:27 pm

      😂

  4. REPLY
    Angie says
    July 17, 2022 at 2:19 pm

    that’s hilarious !!! What a cheeky girl ! Knows no bounds ! I think it’s so adorable that she does this and
    the others are patiently standing there, letting their dental hygienist explore around, probably while they’re thinking “sheesh, when WILL she grow UP ???” xxx from Angie in Ontario, Canada xxx

  5. REPLY
    Benita Auge says
    July 17, 2022 at 3:10 pm

    Would there be any chance she is looking for her mother? Would this organ relate any family relationships to her?

    • REPLY
      Kat Blais says
      July 17, 2022 at 5:27 pm

      most likely not, she understands Pocha is her mother. but the organ is supposed to relay a lot about mood.

  6. REPLY
    Carmen Lucia Souza says
    July 17, 2022 at 5:09 pm

    Rsss… essa Guille! Uma surpresa a cada dia!!!

  7. REPLY
    Juliet Camp says
    July 17, 2022 at 5:40 pm

    🥰

  8. REPLY
    Patricia says
    July 17, 2022 at 5:49 pm

    Guille! Baby doll, you are a personality plus plus plus! 😘😘😘

  9. REPLY
    Sherry says
    July 17, 2022 at 9:36 pm

    Correct she knows no bounds and I love it!

  10. REPLY
    Nancy says
    July 17, 2022 at 11:08 pm

    With her Eyes Closed !!

  11. REPLY
    Beji says
    July 18, 2022 at 8:53 am

    She will literally take the words right out of your mouth…so cute

  12. REPLY
    Marcia Brixius says
    July 18, 2022 at 2:45 pm

    This news makes me so happy! Sara, you have an amazing way of painting images in our mind’s eye of what you are experiencing in person. Thank you for your continued and detailed logs!

    • REPLY
      Sara says
      July 18, 2022 at 3:24 pm

      I get lots of help about learning what’s going on from Kat and Scott. These stories are my interpretations of their words. Thanks for such a lovely compliment.

  13. REPLY
    Wanda Trotta says
    July 19, 2022 at 12:13 pm

    Love it!

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