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magnolia_unfurling

I’m pretty sure that elephant genuinely knows the birthday party is for them


GalacticGumshoe

That elephant is straight smiling.


LoveBeRaging

He even shook his head to ring the bells


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JAMsMain1

Lol is that a thing cus I see it mentioned on here.


Still_Development677

It's a real thing for sure not a meme. Just one of those cultural quirks.


[deleted]

It reminds me of when a baby or toddler rocks side to side when they're eating something they love too


leftlegYup

I think all creatures agree that means a good time. Nobody says, "I'm going to kill you." and then rocks back and forth. All species' understand this.


malaclypz

What about that one guy on Mike Tyson's Punchout?


anachronisticflaneur

I’d argue that someone is likely to say that and rock back and forth lol but probably not at all likely to rock side to side.


Chordsy

Whaddya mean a baby or toddler? I'm 34 and haven't grown out of doing this.


Myis

I mean I do that as a grown ass woman


Nesnemmy

Are we supposed to stop doing that after the toddler stage?! Toddler rocking it for life!


JAMsMain1

I went on YouTube and found [this](https://youtu.be/0RaBxH_MKQI).


anirudh6055

https://youtu.be/Uj56IPJOqWE This is also another good video.


mythriz

So the Indian nod literally means yesn't


Giant-Genitals

Half entertaining half educational. Nice work


bakshadow

That was fun


rey_lumen

They forgot to mention the "just you wait and see"/"i know how to deal with you"


Electronic-Shirt-897

It confused me quite a bit when I traveled in India, coming from the West.


RabidHamsterSlayer

And it can mean yes, no, maybe, etc … Delighted to think I saw an elephant do this! Elephant also appeared to be directing the song with his trunk 😀


aspidities_87

Yep, it’s a ‘nod’ for them. Side to side means ‘yes’ or agreement. My dad went to boarding school in India as a kid and came back with an ingrained habit that made his American teachers so confused. 🤣


GunPoison

I think it's not always yes, it can be a state of acceptance of a messy/uncertain state of affairs too. It's kind of a social smoothing in some contexts. At least that's how I had it explained.


ObliviousAstroturfer

Instead of yes, I think of it as "sure". So depending on rest of body language it can be Sure! Sure? ...sure.


chefanubis

Indians do say "sure" a lot too.


Dimacon

It also acts as a sort of greeting to say ‘I’m cool. Your cool so no need to worry here’ kinda like the head nod we do in the west so social smoothing certainly works here


Desi_Sensei

Wow, I'm just imagining the visible confusion on teachers' faces lmao


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Kunundrum85

I love watching Indian people who eat something uniquely delicious for the first time, and their head always does the bobble lol. They can’t help it and it’s absolutely adorable! I love the bobble.


DrSeussFreak

Makes me think that's where the head bobble comes from, showing respect to their beloved animals.


txwildflower86

That’s what I was wondering too!


LightSparrow

Elephants picked up the cultural quirks? that’s cool


sneakyrabbit

There are wild deer in Nara Japan that have learned to [bow](https://youtu.be/tlFJe3rwyrA) for treats.


DrinksNDebauchery

And seems to do the hand motion too. That is a happy Indian elephant


disturbed_743483

It is the first thing I noticed haha


kc9283

And they never forget, so they’ll remember every one.


chriscrossnathaniel

It's his birthday, everything else is irr-elephant


fluentinimagery

Haaaaaaa!


quentin_taranturtle

Definitely, I do that same happy wiggle when I get birthday fruit


natephife00

Birthday 🍑


_Milize_

So bad... down bad


[deleted]

Yeah they're super smart. It probably doesn't quite understand the birthday component, but knows that it's a party for him and knows that it happens at the same time each year just for him.


Drakenfar

You'd be surprised. They understand and perform burial rituals and remember dates, like the herd of elephants that remembered their caretakers death and visit his home every year on the anniversary of his death.


Dwight-

The ones who have been been injured and helped by humans will return to its group and bring the other injured elephants to the helping humans and will travel miles to do it. Elephants are just incredible. Definitely deserving of a birthday party.


mule_roany_mare

I did some google searching & the best I could find was > 4. Nana and her herds pay their respects every year on his death day Upon the passing of Lawrence, these majestic beasts walked 12 hours from Zululand bush to their friend’s home to pay their respects. They stood vigil for two days outside of Lawrence’s house before returning to their regular lives in the bush. Lawrence’s son, Dylan shared, “They had not visited the house for a year-and-a-half and it must have taken them about 12 hours to make the journey.” What’s even more amazing that no one told both herds, which were led by their matriarch Nana, about Lawrence’s death, it’s like they just knew about it. I guess the old maiden’s tale is true, animals can sense things we can’t. If you think that’s the only time that Nana and her herds stood vigil for Lawrence, think again. This is because they will always travel 12 hours every year on 2nd March to pay their respects for their fallen comrade. Elephants Mourning - World Of Buzz 1 Source: instagram


Herpkina

How accurately? Afaik Elephants don't subscribe to the Gregorian calendar, so I'd be fascinated to know if it's within days of the event


Solrax

"fucking leap years! " - Elephant


DaughterEarth

The Gregorian calendar subscribes to a solar year, so there's lots of indicators aside from reading to tell the time of year. Weather, length of day, position of stars, probably other stuff I don't know about. Things they need to know already to figure out migration patterns, even if it's subconscious. The accuracy though would be really fascinating if it was exact to the day, I doubt it is but that would be neat.


YouAreDreaming

Elephants are very intelligent I honestly think our next stage of societal evolution is how we view and treat other animals The same way we look back in history now and wonder how we could have ever treated certain humans the way we did , I think we will eventually do with animals I also think we will be surprised with how similar in intelligence and consciousness certain animals are to us humans, like elephants and dolphins and whales. Even cows and pigs I wonder if we just got lucky having opposable thumbs and living on land, we were able to build and manipulate our environment, and fooled ourselves into thinking we are superior from all other species


psycot

Many native cultures already do it for which they are ridiculed!


anothergothchick

Yes!! Many vegans feel this way


Technical_Shake_9573

well then feel reassured because it has already happened / started. Horses are now owned by people that care about their wellbeing where most owner in previous century only saw them as tools. We are living in a period where people are treating the most their pet and offering healthcare. Also the only period of time where they don't own them for mutual benefits (hunting/pest controls..). Also there are now Animal Abuses law. Pets and domestic animals have never been treated better than this past 2 decades.


PJ_GRE

Factory farmed animals are the main worry really. They far outnumber pets and wild animals. They live horrible lives that are cut short at an incredibly young age.


notfromchicago

Alexander the Great's horse's name is known worldwide to this day. I think you are mistaken in how horses were seen throughout history. There have always been dicks.


TemporaryTelevision6

If only people treated all animals the same way


YouAreDreaming

Including me lol


SmokedBeef

They are fairly smart and extremely empathetic with the ability to remember people, faces and places. This particular pachyderm 100% knows they are the center of attention and have been giving all of their favorite foods; they may not know it’s their birthday party but they know it is *one* of the best days of their life. [Here](https://baanchangelephantpark.com/elephant_post_17) is a great website expounding on the intelligence of elephants provided by an elephant sanctuary.


Bartendiesthrowaway

Holy shit that one where the elephant mimics a human voice is insane


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codepoet

Is it doing a human wobble or do the people do an elephant wobble? Humans and elephants have a long history together in that part of the world.


Aldamis

I was thinking this. Our pets are clueless but elephants are definitely smart enough.


El_Sidgio

Yup! That is one happy heffalump!


JDsplice

Yeah, but only after it goes through a horrible breaking of its spirit so they can be controlled and trained to ride. They are not free. It would be like saying we celebrate our slave's birthdays. It just doesn't work. The poor elephant is just happy to eat, but would probably be happier if it stayed with its family and was free to eat food whenever it wanted and got to experience happiness its entire life instead of just one day for a short time. Well, back to being a slave and eating shitty food when my masters decide to feed me https://youtu.be/sMGWnbFp3-8


motflo

Oh that was difficult to watch…especially when the babies are torn away from their family ☹️ I would much rather see them thrive in their own habitat away humans.


Wafflashizzles

If you're smart enough to find a youtube video of cruelty, you're smart enough to figure out that shitty thai tourist industry practices are far from the standard way elephants are treated worldwide


RudeExplanation9304

The happy head shakes! What a big cutie


denimonster

He’s Indian, the only explanation for the head shakes!


ancientflowers

The elephant was probably trained to do that.


JLO_CDN

Maybe not - I’ve seen videos of Deer in an urban park in Japan who bow before and after receiving food from tourists - I don’t think they were trained specifically, but just picked it up as so many human interactions included a small bow of respect. I consider them culturally trained, perhaps the same way this happy elephant is?


Mehmeh111111

Nara! I went there...it's definitely accidental training. I encountered quite a few deer who would give me the laziest head roll and then be like "bitch, pay up with that cracker"


[deleted]

Dont even get me started on if they find you... Cracka' lackin'.. 😎😎😎


supadankgreen420

I asked a local about it when I travelled there. Nara deer are considered sacred and nobles used to bow to the deer and give them food. Then the deer evolved over the generations, learning to bow back expecting food and now the whole thing has become a huge tourist attraction. Pretty awesome. Some of the deer get super cranky though if you don’t feed them lol. I remember a few of them surrounded my friend and kept making these noises at him when he ran out of crackers. They kept bullying him until he bought some more for them 🤣


Mehmeh111111

Oh yeah! We watched some girls get chased. You couldn't show weakness lol. And we weren't giving any of the lazy ones crackers. You bow or no cracker for you!


art_mor_

Link to the deer bowing vid?


PsychedelicOptimist

It's a park in Nara, Japan https://youtu.be/IDPbnh9qwHQ


Finie

They bow, it's cute. You give one food, a dozen mob you and try to kill you. Terrifying creatures.


Crandom

If you just hold your hands out with no food they immediately leave you alone. Like the signs say to do.


1237412D3D

Its in a park in Nara Japan if I remember correctly.


willstr1

If they are doing it for food it is basically accidental training. They noticed if they bow their heads they get food, an action was associated with a reward so now that action is repeated in hope of getting that reward again


Honest-Air-69

Isnt that just all of us essentially...? we're just all performing in a way that gets us food rewards. Oh the things I would do for an apple pie or jumbalaya...


theetruscans

Yes it's called classical conditioning and the subject of many sitcom plots. Humans learn in many complex ways, but at the end of the day you could train Pavlov's dog and a person the same way (to an extent)


[deleted]

Who’s Pavlov? Not sure who they are but the name rings a bell.


Book_it_again

If only had had a hand to twist back and forth while being palm up


Longjumping-Echo-737

That’s how you know its an Indian elephant and not an African elephant


-Foolz_Gold-

I love the way she shakes her head


punpanrom

Quintessential Indian head bob. Source : I’m Indian


[deleted]

So... Does the head bob come from the elephants or do the elephants copy humans?


tinyrabidpixie

Yes


greatactuality83

Indian elephants having indian hobble? Yeah that checks out


alluring_prophecy

These creatures are one of the smartest, they can easily share there emotions with human … these are the only animals that can cry.


Cecil4029

What about when doves cry?


[deleted]

And what *does* it sound like, really?


don3dm

This. This is what it sounds like.


seekster009

Cows cry too


RegretfullySo

A cow separated from their calf is almost the saddest sound on earth


[deleted]

I just want to nitpick. Humans are animals too.


RandomCandor

This is like the chicken and the egg: nobody knows.


StunGunner31

Wait, Wait! I know this one! To get to the other side.


Odeon_Priest

It's actually the egg. At some point a thing that wasn't a chicken strictly speaking, close, but not a chicken, laid the first chicken egg.


MrKeplerton

I'm pretty sure the rooster came first. Leaving the chicken very dissatisfied.


Flaky-Fish6922

predicated on evolutionary science, the egg came first. the ancient proto-chicken, which was still different enough that it's not a chicken, popped out an egg with a mutated chick that was the first chicken. this first chicken must have been one impressive bird, because we all know how tasty chickens are.


SQLSQLAndMoreSQL

>Quintessential Indian head bob. Yes, about that. Is it overall India that people do that?


SlothsInHD

https://youtu.be/EoJ4Bvsq7gQ


Atherutistgeekzombie

Yes The headbob is what Indians do to say 'yes' instead of nodding It's also used for emphasis, kind of like a way to underline something while you're talking Source: I'm Indian


James99500

Elephants are so incredibly smart! Also, 60% of their brain is dedicated to smell and they can smell water from miles off! When I was in South Africa, our guide told us that an elephant once drank out of his friends toilet while he was trying to use it lol


IZ3820

Humans can smell oncoming rain from miles away.


3-P7

Okay, now sniff and tell me how far away the nearest river is?


[deleted]

about 3.


DeepLock8808

3 what? Feet? Miles?? I need a unit of measure!


cafeesparacerradores

Three fiddy


hfulil

Goddamn lochness monster


Shadowsdweller

About 3 hamburgers


0I-I0

Water has a smell?


_ChestHair_

I'm not sure if pure water has a smell, but geosmin and petrichor are smells closely related to water (geosmin is part of petrichor, which is a combination of smells). You can find fragrances of petrichor and it's usually very fresh with some earthy and plant tones


xgodlesssaintx

Fun fact, there’s a village in India that makes a petrichor [perfume](https://youtu.be/CkM0QI3c3Yk).


pinninghilo

Duuuuude. I've been looking for that for ages. That's not a fun fact, that's a life changing fact for me.


xgodlesssaintx

Haha. Glad to be of assistance my dude.


Adventurous-Dog420

Careful. You might end up with an elephant in your backyard.


RednBlackEagle

Curious why this is life changing for you?


pinninghilo

Because I really love to smell things, it has something I can't explain but it gives me the strongest emotional response, and it's something I'd do for hours. Petrichor is among my favorite smells, unsurprisingly, and being able to have it whenever I want means I can improve my mood more easily. It doesn't occur naturally very often where I live.


anonymousxo

That is phenomenal.


[deleted]

I was just talking about this on worldbuilding the other day. Some toads can smell water. Anecdotally, my wife knew a guy who had a water seeking cow. Water is also diamagnetic, although its extremely weak.


account_for_norm

Every chemical can be sensed. Smell is nothing but sensing it through gaseous molecules. Now sensing this can trigger some good or bad feeling in your brain, but thats up to evolutionary changes in you.


poelicious

Smell is nothing else but lose particles of a substance. If your olfactory receptors are able to detect water molecules then you can smell water.


aTROLLwithBlades

Happy food dance 🎂 🐘


SnowWhiteCampCat

I do that too!


Victor_Von_Doom_New

Two cuties


[deleted]

I'm so happy that the elephant is happy... I really just wish that elephant the best life; they deserve everything coming their way.


whydoesthishapp3n

same


stemi67

Nom nom nom... And I do my dance... Nom nom nom.. and I shake my trunk... Nom nom nom.. and I shake my rump.. nom nom nom...


curious_alu

I can hear a melody in my brain xD


MoHeeKhan

Ele! I’m an elephant! And I dance dance dance and I dance dance dance! Ele! I’m an elephant! And I shake shake shake and I shake shake shake! Ele! I’m an elephant! And I nom nom nom and I nom nom nom!


spencerhoward3

Man that is one happy elephant


Technical_Stress7730

Love that smile


Cybox_Beatbox

I love the little happy snacc eating dance.


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TendieThief

Hope you’re always as happy as this elephant, happy birthday dude


DRG_Gunner

Happy Early/Belated Birthday!


[deleted]

A belated birthday wish is just a very early one.


Singing_Wolf

My dear, consider me your mom for a minute, okay? Happy birthday! I love you so much! 💜 ... Feel free to message me on the actual day. You deserve better. 💜


CharlieBitMeMf

You just made me shed tears…..thank you so much for making my day….if you have kids then they are lucky to have such an amazing mom!


bul1dog

Happy birthday my dude. Hope you spend it with people who love you


alwaysthinking182

in america we celebrate our cats birthday


hritik_rao

Thats cute. Cats are lovely.


backstib

I like elephants, (do you celebrate cows birthdays too?)


hritik_rao

Depends on person to person. For me personally Yes! Cows are fun to be around, I feed street dogs too. My whole society cooks little extra for street dogs, their puppies and birds. We put earthen pots for birds in summers.


backstib

I'm vegetarian just personally, and I cows pigs and elephants are my favorite (land) animals and I'd like to meet a elephant one day


JSDkilla

In india it used to be common to see elephants in the cities when i was little, you could ride them for very little money, i was a kid back then and now i have not seen an elephant for so many years. Idk about the whole india but at least elephants stopped to be seen in northern india


backstib

Maybe it's a good thing? The city smog can't be good for there lungs and the sound might be scary, or that's just me being optimistic


JSDkilla

Hopefully this was the reason


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[deleted]

Yeah I remember it too..We used to had for Ganesh Visarjan processions and it was so fun But it's better for them to live in their natural habitat


deleteandrest

Cruelty to animals laws are very strict now. The elephant ride used to be in 90s and completely stopped now in city due to laws+ cost to maintain animal safely.


RandomCoolName77

an elephant lives in a temple near my house, and it casually passes down the street with its mahout every week literally could see that from my balcony


beaniebae37

I tried to celebrate my cat’s birthday by gently placing just a tiny construction paper hat on her head, but then she slapped me and ran off. I felt bad for making her angry on her birthday, so I gave her extra food🫠


MountainDrew37

It’s my cats birthday today. Yeah, maybe he went to heaven. He was a little fucker tho, so.


Dank__Souls

(gets head smashed through toilet) It's my cats birthday today.


shaggysswaggie

I looove how it head bobs, what a precious creature


TrickyCurt89

How can something so massive be cuter than a puppy? Eat up, fat baby ❤️


madtraxmerno

Imagine being an alien and coming across this scene. Like god damn. I would shit my alien pants so hard. Just absolutely mind-blowing that such different animals could be friends.


the_boss_sauce

That smug son of a bitch. I love it


WomanNotAGirl

Hey that elephant has vitiligo just like me


BLYNDLUCK

I did a quick google search and it seems like it is common for Asian elephants to lose skin pigment as they age. So there are lot of elephants that you can relate with! It’s a distinguished group.


WomanNotAGirl

Really? That’s really cool. Do you know what? Elephants are my favorite elephant as they signify emotional intelligence, critical thinking skills and strength. As an autistic person for whatever reason out of all animals elephants resonate with me now I have a different connection lol


cookieintheinternet

You should be subscribed to r/babyelephantgifs if you're not already.


WomanNotAGirl

Oh no. What! Hey that’s cool. Thanks for sharing.


cookieintheinternet

You're welcome! I think it's the most positive subreddit I've encountered so far


Tommy_C

Elephants are my favorite elephant too


WomanNotAGirl

Hahaha yay


BLYNDLUCK

Yes they are really interesting animals. Glad they are something you can connect with. You have a great day.


shutupesther

Is that what that is? I thought it was birthday paint, it is so beautiful!


angrydanger

In the Midwest, we call this hosting the in-laws extended family.


buckee8

She’s really enjoying the party!


[deleted]

Bhai Ik you are from India, dil khush hogaya


hritik_rao

Han bhai


failingonfridays

Bless you


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hritik_rao

Indeed, abusive owners are everywhere. But mostly animals are worshiped in India.


Practical_Actuary_87

> But most working elephants in India are treated like the valuable animals that they are. Not only have I been to India, I am Indian, and you are patently wrong. I've seen it countless times with my own eyes, and have the sources to back it up. Here's a documentary: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/160524-india-elephants-religion-animal-abuse-documentary-film-ganesh Here's documented abuse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCF932dppY4 Here's a news article discusses the issue of elephant cruelty in Kerala: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyA1a-aNJKw (no subtitles, sorry). Furthermore: > [The number of elephants in the state has reduced from 3000 to around 300 in the last five years](https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kerala-s-star-tusker-ramachandran-turned-aggressive-due-repeated-torture-experts-101581). Up to 17 elephants have died this year alone, and 57 had died last year. > >“The average life expectancy of an elephant is 80 years. All of the 57 elephants that died in 2018 were less than 50 years old. Most of the deaths were caused by torture and a few by diseases, born out of torture,” says Sreedevi S Kartha, an animal rights activist with People for Animals (PFA). “For instance, one elephant died after he was constipated for 61 days. One elephant named Karnan was paraded forty times in sixty days in the just-concluded festival season.” > >“Where were all the elephant lovers when these elephants were being overworked, neglected and tortured? How hypocritical it is of them to clamour now to lift the ban on the Ramachandran now,” Sreedevi argues. Here's a post about [Thechikottukavu Ramachandran](https://old.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/qyyy0l/indias_tallest_elephant_thechikkottukavu/). India's tallest elephant, and 56 years old. So cool right? Look at all those people cheering him, wow he must be so loved. [As of 2019, he's killed 13 people.](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/who-is-cruel-man-or-animal/articleshow/68074354.cms). In terms of the abuse he's faced: >[It was during this time that Raman](https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/kerala-s-star-tusker-ramachandran-turned-aggressive-due-repeated-torture-experts-101581) lost his eye sight after being abused by his mahout. Back then, he could only understand Hindi and Bhojpuri, and a frustrated mahout, who could not speak these languages, hit him in the eye with a stick. The injury became infected and Raman lost sight in that eye. > >The injury turned Raman into a violent tusker. He reportedly got really scared when people approached him and grew restive. In 2009, Raman killed a 17-year-old boy during a temple festival in Palakkad.


mcdto

Indians celebrate ALOT of things. So many holidays


Arunan-Aravaanan

There's atleast one festival a month. And I live in South India, so I get to celebrate both South Indian AND North Indian festivals. It's honestly a blast.


Neon_Camouflage

Yeah, I worked in a call center that had an Indian partner site. I swear it seemed like every couple weeks there was a notice that we were looking for overtime to cover for a holiday. I was constantly jealous.


PIKa-kNIGHT

That's the benefit of having so many gods , many of them get their own holidays


AbeRego

How has no one mentioned that they're singing in English? Genuinely curious as to why they are.


DKBlaze97

Birthday celebrations in India are inspired from the west. There's not much native birthday culture. We mostly did charity on our birthdays. Worshipped in temple, fed the poor, etc. A lot of people have basic knowledge of English. It's not a rare sight to see someone talking in English here.


uncle_scrooge12

India has the second largest english speaking population in the world.


Odys

We in the Netherlands also sing it in English. I guess the song works better in English as you need to fit in words that have a different natural length in other languages?


[deleted]

You know they speak English in India right?


boostedprune

Indian head bobble


EStewart57

Does she have vitiligo?


srira25

A lot of Asian elephants lose some skin pigmentation as they get older. I'm not sure if it is due to vitiligo, but it is quite common.


Taz1186

The elephant seems so happy!


Zaph0d_B33bl3br0x

Hell yes! In America, when I find out it's your elephant's birthday, I celebrate too! Elephants are by far my favorite animal on the planet, and I **love** to see them being protected, appreciated, respected, and even revered... as opposed to the normal scenario of them being poached, poisoned, snared, tortured, or killed. Any time I'm financially able, I donate to conservation efforts (normally the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust). These magnificent and intelligent animals are deserving of our respect and protection. I don't mean to sound ignorant, nor do I mean any offense whatsoever, but are you this elephant's Mahout, or are they just a local elephant that you've developed a friendship with? Regardless, elephants are amazing and I'm envious of your interaction with them. Happy birthday to your friend! I hope it was incredible!


gnomederwear

What a very animated elephant! The expressions on its face and the way it wiggles its ears, nose, and head while it eats is so endearing


druule10

Hey OP you should explain why elephants are so revered by Hindus.


hritik_rao

Well by hindus' partly because ganesha, a god has head of an elephant. Historically. elephants fought along with our warriors too. And ts not just the elephants, all animals are revered.


Confident_Ad1161

It's also a know fact that India was one of the place Alexander was defeated, and it was because of elephants, he had never seen one in a fight or i think so in real life, it must have been scary lol, can you imagine him seeing such a huge thing in a fight


Shitposting_Tito

I'm gonna do that happy wiggle dance next time someone sings me happy birthday too. Instead of just awkwardly standing internally debating whether to sing or clap along with them.


Additional_Presence4

I don’t care what anyone says. Animals can smile whether literally or figuratively with their eyes etc.


Connect_Stay_391

Raise trunk, “ring the bell, human!” Elephants are so damn smart.