A Herd Of 300+ Elephants Gathered To Pay Last Respects To Their Dead Leader

Apr 19, 2019 by apost team

Human beings are social creatures, and we enjoy the company of others close to us. It's therefore sad when one of your friends passes on to the next life. It leaves us heart broken and in tears. You may be surprised to learn that we are not the only species that openly shows sorrow and grief after a loved one has departed. Elephants also feel sad when one of their own dies. This is exactly what happened in Sri Lanka.

Despite their size and massive power, elephants prefer to live together. They travel as a herd, sleep as a herd, and eat as a herd.

This is like their family.

Being united also helps the elephants scare off predators that may try to attack or eat one of their own. They form one of the amazing bonds with one another.

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In our story, an elephant leader had just died near Kalawewa Reserve in a tiny village in Sri Lanka. The big mammal succumbed after being defeated by another male from a rival herd. Interestingly, the whole herd elephants gathered around the dead leader to pay their last respects.

The elephants made sorrow noises that could be heard from miles. One elephant after the other slowly moved to the dead leader's body, touched him with its trunk, made a sorrow noise, and then walked away with the head bowed.

It was unlike anything the villagers were used to from their elephants.

It was both sad and interesting to look at.

The behavior of the elephants proved some researchers right. The academics from Oxford University had studied elephants for quite a while back in 2006 and concluded that these animals were capable of grief.

Watch for yourself:

Tell us what you thought of this story? Have you ever witnessed another animal mourn one of its own? We would love to read your stories in the comments! Don't forget to show this video to all your animal loving friends.