They Blocked Off The Road After Realizing What This Elephant Was Carrying With Its Trunk

Indian Forest Service ranger Parveen Kaswan shared a video on Twitter showcasing intriguing elephant behavior. A mother elephant led her herd across a road, carrying her dead calf gently in her trunk. She laid it down briefly to graze while the others in the herd approached, touching and sniffing the calf, seemingly partaking in a ritual of mourning. As the family continued on their way, the mother took her baby with her, as if part of an ongoing funereal march. [1]

This will move you !! Funeral procession of the weeping elephants carrying dead body of the child elephant. The family just don’t want to leave the baby. pic.twitter.com/KO4s4wCpl0

— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) June 7, 2019

A Funeral for a Dead Calf

This video is one of many analyzed by a group of scientists studying the bereavement behaviors of Asian elephants. Researchers Sanjeeta Sharma Pokharel, Nachiketha Sharma, and Raman Sukumar from the Indian Institute of Science, utilized YouTube to gather data. They reviewed 39 videos covering 24 incidents of Asian elephants reacting to death between 2010 and 2021. In some of these videos, an adult female, likely the mother, was seen carrying the dead calf for an extended period. The researchers suggested that understanding elephant mourning may enhance human empathy towards them, aiding conservation efforts. [2]

This scenario occurred again in Jalpaiguri, north Bengal, as a mother elephant carried her deceased calf for days. She covered a distance of seven kilometers to a local tea plantation. Elephants are known for their intelligence and complex social structures, often living in close-knit groups led by a matriarch. This mother appeared reluctantly detached from her calf.

William Stegmann, associated with the Twyfelfontein Country Lodge, recounted the birth of the calf on October 27, 2022, to Rosy’s Group, named after its matriarch. “The newborn was fragile from day one and struggled to keep pace with the herd as they ventured to find water,” narrated Stegmann. “The calf was spotted again the next day but seemingly passed overnight, with a heart-wrenching photo captured the following morning.” [3]

Reportedly, the mother retained the calf for two days, pausing only for nourishment. Eventually, the group’s matriarch pushed her to leave the calf behind, prompting their journey to continue, the mother among them.

Elephants in Mourning

“Elephants, along with other mammals, have fundamental brain structures similar to humans,” stated Bob Jacobs, a neuroanatomy professor at Colorado College. “Even with species-specific brain specializations, evolutionary patterns have preserved certain neurofunctional principles, suggesting shared emotional frameworks with humans.”

Despite our inability to ascertain exactly what elephants feel, it is logical to assume their emotional responses mirror our own in some contexts. Numerous observations showcase elephants carrying deceased calves, a behavior shared with primates, which suggests a level of death awareness beyond what was previously assumed. The driving motive behind this behavior remains partially speculative, explained John Poulsen, an ecologist at Duke University.

There are speculations that the donkey of carrying could stem from a motherly drive, not acknowledging the calf’s demise. “This behavior might suggest a misunderstanding of death or a grief-like sentiment,” noted Poulsen. “Observations of revisits to carcasses or contact with bones lend credence to a grief-based interpretation.”

While an elephant carrying her dead calf resonates strongly with human observers, triggering empathy, the underlying motivation—grief or instinct—remains ambiguous, with most experts inclining towards genuine mourning. “The mother may not comprehend her calf’s death, or there may be a stronger, overwhelming impulse,” suggested Jason N. Bruck, a biology professor at Stephen F. Austin State University. “These instances result from 95 million years of evolutionary divergence, yet the urge to anthropomorphize remains powerful.”