Mourning elephants refuse to abandon their dead friend’s body

Heartbreaking footage shows a herd of mourning elephants refusing to abandon their dead friend’s body.The elephant had to be put down by park rangers after he broke his leg at the Chobe National Park in Botswana. The touching video shows his friends watching over his body, with one elephant stroking him with his trunk. Researchers have found that elephants, like humans, grieve for the dead by frequently visiting their graves, ‘kissing’ their bodies with their trunks and rocking to and fro with grief. While humans usually reserve their grief for friends and family, elephants mourn over the death of the loosest acquaintance.

Photo: Storyful