The Emotional Moment a Mourning Baby Elephant Refuses to Leave Their Dead Mom Behind
The calf was later rescued by two adult elephants, one of whom has adopted the young elephant as their own
By Kelli Bender April 17, 2018 05:16 PM
Heartbreaking footage captured in the Rajaji Reserve Forest in Uttarakhand, India, shows a young elephant trying in vain to get their dead mother to move again.
According to The Sun, a 40-year-old mother elephant recently died leaving her baby behind to mourn the loss. There is no concrete cause of death, but officials at the reserve believe the pachyderm broke her neck during a fall from a hill.
Video taken following the mother elephant's death shows her 2-year-old calf staying by her side and refusing to move.
"It would feel the dead body of the fallen giant occasionally with its legs and trunk, hoping to elicit a response from her," director of the reserve, Sanatan Sonkar, told The Sun.
Worried about the safety of the calf, rangers on the reserve tried to move the baby animal away from the body, but the calf would not budge.
Eventually, according to Sonkar, two large elephants were brought to the area to lead the calf away from its mother's body.
The reserve told The Sun that the baby elephant has since formed a connection with one of the elephants who came to its aid, and the older elephant has appeared to have grown attached to the calf as well.