Elephant trunks, mammalian tongues, and octopus arms are all examples of muscular hydrostats, structures composed mainly of muscles with no skeletal support. In 1985, biologist Bill Kier stated that since that muscles are mostly made of water, muscular hydrostats should be incompressible and satisfy volume conservation. In many organisms, this is the case: for example, an earthworm extends only by undergoing radial compression. In this experimental study, we high speed film an elephant reaching for distant objects. Using image analysis, we divide the trunk into four equal sections and find that all segments increase in length while maintaining girth, which is contrary to that suggested by conservation of volume. We discuss possible rationale for this phenomenon, from flow of blood into the trunk to expansion of nasal passages.