Two African elephants locked trunks in heart-warming embrace

Can anyone recall the old playground trick to sneak out of the agreement if a lover said the fateful words, ‘I love you’?

The best thing to do is say ‘elephant juice’ as it looked exactly like you’re saying: ‘I love you too.’

Try it in the mirror. Anyway, that seamlessly introduced this amazing set of photos of two African elephants, who really look as if they’re in love.

Here, a Savannah elephant from Namibia met another from Botswana at the Chobe River, which flows between the two countries.

And photographer Eric Webber was sitting in a boat just 20 feet away as the Namibian elephant swam out into the middle of the river using his trunk as a snorkel.

The Botswanan elephant waded in to join his neighbor in a playfight that ended with the two animals getting their trunks in a tangle.

Mr. Webber said: ‘We sailed in the late afternoon on the Chobe River, which separates Namibia and Botswana, mainly watching hippos and crocodiles, along with lots of birds.

‘We stopped at a bend in the river when we saw a herd of eight to ten elephants on the Botswana shore.

‘We watched them for a while until all, but one wandered off.

‘At the same time, we noticed a lone elephant on the banks of the Namibia River.

‘He walked to the riverbank, casually but on purpose, it seemed, waded in and eventually started swimming across, using his trunk as a snorkel. ”

The Texas-based photographer continued: ‘The other elephant, a slightly larger juvenile male, appeared to be waiting on the shores of Botswana, regularly raising his trunk and sniffing the air.

‘They both ignored us, and we drifted to about 20 feet away from them.

‘They sniffed each other briefly and then entwined trunks.

‘Our guide explained that this was a way for elephants, especially baby elephants, to greet each other – like a handshake.

‘It’s also a playful game, and they both seemed to enjoy it, wrapping and unpacking their trunks, pulling a little but not much.

‘They did it a few times, and then together they went up to the bank and disappeared into the bushes.

‘You also know how gentle they seem; that can change very quickly, which definitely adds to the excitement of being around with them.’