When elephants are foraging for food out of sight of one another, they communicate by making rumbling noises similar to gargling. Conflicts between elephants are communicated by a threat display in which the superior will twirl its trunk or throw dust into the air. The display is also used to warn enemies. If its signals are ignored, the threatened elephant may charge at its attacker. But charges are rarely carried through, at the last moment, the elephant either stops short or turns aside.
Elephants are entirely vegetarian.
They eat a wide variety of grasses, foliage, fruit, and small branches and twigs. They gather food with the aid of their trunk and then place it into their mouths. The few teeth elephants have are used to grind their food. Elephants have gigantic appetites. Night, early morning, and evening are their favorite eating and drinking times, but they also eat all day on the move.