Do Animals Grieve?

Elephants are expressive animals and they have the ability to feel complex emotions much the way we do.  Herds of elephants are known to circle an ill member of their family, offering physical support for them until they can no longer stand. The herd will even try to revive their relation after they pass.

Following a death, the herd will touch their loved one with their feet, and stroke them with their trunks.  In their travels, when an elephant comes upon a dead elephant, it will stop and pause for a few minutes.  It is not uncommon for the elephant to pick up the bones, smell them and turn them around; they do not do this with the bones of any other species. 

Elephants also bury their loved one after he or she dies. Members of the herd break off branches and twigs, and tear up clumps of grass to place on top of their loved one; thus, creating a grave. Like humans, the elephants return to the gravesite to visit their loved one.  Elephants remember and can mourn their loved one for years following their death.

Visit this link to learn more about these amazing animals: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/animals/mammals-animals/elephants/elephant_african_mourning.html