It is with deep sorrow over the death of her young calf that the mother elephant has carried the body for many days and traveled a long distance through the forest.
Parveen Kaswan, an Indian forest ranger, shared a heartbreaking video capturing the moment when an adult Asian elephant dragged the body of her calf, which has gone viral on social media.
The mother Asian elephant has carried her calf’s body for several days, performing mourning rituals for the deceased. “I think they are holding on and trying to come to terms with what is happening. The mother elephant still wants to interact with her offspring,” said Parveen Kaswan.
The video has attracted the attention of many internet users, garnering over 534,000 views, 14,000 likes, and thousands of comments.
Research by scientists at the Conservation Biology Institute, the Smithsonian National Zoo, and Kyoto University indicates that Asian elephants, like their African relatives, have mourning practices for deceased calves, carrying their bodies for many days, even weeks.
For a long time, scientists have found evidence that African elephants mourn, showing emotional grief for deceased members of the herd. They approach the remains, touch them, stand near the body to guard it, and have even carried the bodies for several days. However, the behaviors of Asian elephants are not yet fully understood. They live in dense forest environments, making it very difficult to observe them in the wild.
Brian Aucone, an expert at the Denver Zoo, stated, “Asian elephants can be just 30 meters away from you, but you can’t see them because the forest is so dense.”
According to statistics, the most notable behavior of Asian elephants is that mother elephants carry their deceased calves through the forest for many days or weeks after death. Other common reactions show that they are anxious and mournful near the body, sometimes nudging or shaking the corpse as if trying to revive the lost calf.
Elephants are not the only social creatures that react to death, especially the death of young ones. Orcas are also known to exhibit similar behaviors. In 2018, a mother orca named Tahlequah carried her dead calf for 17 days off the coast of Washington. Other orcas gathered around Tahlequah and her calf to comfort and share in the grief together.
Similarly, primates such as gibbons and monkeys also exhibit mourning behaviors. Mother gibbons and monkeys sometimes carry their deceased offspring for weeks or even months.
