Saying Goodbye: Elephants Hold Apparent Vigil To Mourn Their Human Friend

Lawrence Anthony was a conservationist and author known as "The Elephant Whisperer" who passed away on March 2nd.

In 1999, Anthony rescued and rehabilitated a group of wild South African elephants who were deemed dangerous. And the animals appear to remember what he did for them: when Anthony passed away, a group of elephants visited his house in the South African KwaZulu for a two-day vigil, according to his family.

While it's hard to say how they could have sensed that Anthony had died, elephants are known for their grieving rituals, both in the wild and in captivity. According to many researchers, elephants grieve the deaths of their relatives, as when a child or parent dies.

To find out more about Anthony's life and work - among his many achievements are the founding of conservation group The Earth Organization in 2003, and rushing to the Baghdad Zoo to protect the animals that remained alive there after the American invasion of Iraq - check out his obituary in the New York Times.

Comments

[Janis Hunter]

How beautiful the spirits of elephants. I have always loved them dearly.

If only humans would learn from these precious beings. I cry when I seem them hunted for their tusks. It is a sin against God.