Adorable Moment Elephant Reunites With Daughter And Granddaughters Following 12-Year Separation

Aug 27, 2020 by apost team

This week a 39-year-old elephant was reunited with her daughter for the first time in 12 years. The reunion took place at the Bergzoo in Halle, Germany. Not only that, but the elephant named Pori met her two granddaughters for the first time as well, with the moment being a joyous occasion for all.

Elephants are matriarchal animals, living in herds composed of mothers, aunts, and babies, with the oldest female the matriarch of the herd. The female family line is very important to them, so when members are reunited it's even more meaningful than perhaps a human could understand. 

That's what happened in Halle, Germany a few days ago when a 39-year-old bull elephant named Pori was reunited with her daughter Tana, who is 19-years-old, after being apart for 12 years. Pori was being held at the Berlin Zoo, while Tana was at Halle's Bergzoo, according to the Bergzoo's Facebook post in German. Their separation for over a decade is even more tragic because, in the wild, female bull elephants stay with their mothers for their entire lives.

Their reunion comes as a step in a wider initiative in which zoos that hold animals in captivity are slowly moving towards recreating the natural processes of herds in the wild.

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When Pori and Tana were reunited, the pair were touching each other's trunks through their cages, before they met in a shared outdoor space in the elephant house.

Dr. Dennis Müller, the director of the Bergzoo, said via Facebook in German:

"Pori's arrival in Halle is an important step in modern elephant keeping."

The zoo's Facebook post described their encounter with wonderful detail, explaining:

"They communicated with each other using the sounds that are so typical for elephants and remind of the rumbling of thunder. The subsequent trunk contact was followed by a few turns and a short distance from Tana, only to stand together again shortly afterwards and calmly toss sand on their backs."

It sounds like they were having a wonderful time. What's more, Tana's daughters, Tamika, 4, and Elani, 1, met their grandmother for the first time. The zoo further described the moment as "a visibly joyful event for the four of them." 

Visitors who were there were lucky to witness the event: 

"Those involved were able to observe touching scenes between the granddaughters Tamika and Elani and their grandmother Pori, in which Babyfant Elani even tried to drink from Pori's teats."

Speaking about the initiative, the zoo commented that they were "proud to be the only zoo in Germany in which only African elephant cows from a single mother line live together."

It's incredible to witness the sheer happiness of this elephant family reunited, and it's progress that zoos are taking steps to ensure animal families are not separated going forward. 

What did you think of this touching reunion? How would you feel after finally seeing your daughter after 12 years apart and meeting your grandchildren for the first time? Let us know in the comments, then be sure to pass this heartwarming story to your friends and family who love animals!