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Author
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Topic: Elephants in mourning
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blue moon
Moderator Posts: 887
From: U.K
Registered: Dec 2007
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posted March 10, 2008 07:28 AM
 
*From "Random Acts of Heroic Love", in which one of the main characters is a biologist who is grieving over the loss of his girlfriend who died in an accident. He collects stories from the animal world as part of his bereavement healing.*  When an elephant dies in the wild, the other members of the herd will stand over the corpse for days mourning. In one case over a hundred elephants stood vigil over a dead elephant. One of them tried to pick it up and stand it on its feet nearly sixty times before eventually giving up. Sometimes they will cover the body with leaves and branches Eventually with visible sings of distress they will leave the corpse but they often return over the following days to pay their respects. One female elephant was observed leaving the herd and walking thirty miles to visit the bones of a recently departed mate. Whenever elephants pass the place where another elpehenat died they will stop and stand in silence for a long periods. They might pick up the bones affectionately and hug them as if mourning the loss. A female elephant watched her cage mate die while giving birth to a stillborn calf. She stood stock still for a long time until her legs eventually gave way. For three weeks she lay in one spot with her trunk curled up, her ears drooping and her eyes moist. No matter how hard they tried, her keepers could not persuade her to eat. They watched her slowly starve herself to death. IP: Logged |
yourfriendinspirit
Moderator Posts: 2467
From: California, USA
Registered: Oct 2006
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posted March 10, 2008 05:24 PM
Wow, blue moon...
This is by Danny Scheinmann, right?Really I had no idea how deeply effected elephants were by sadness. Much more so then people it seems...
(Know anyone who would walk thirty miles to visit a cemetery?) This is just further clarification for those out there that mistakenly believe animals have no feelings... This is really sad of course... I do however appreciate the education. Thank you   IP: Logged |
Nephthys
Moderator Posts: 3744
From: California
Registered: Oct 2001
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posted March 10, 2008 08:31 PM
Yes, I have seen documentaries on this. Elephants are the only mammals besides humans who pay homoge to their deceased loved ones.  IP: Logged |
nattie33
Knowflake Posts: 394
From: USA
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted March 11, 2008 02:24 AM
So sad it is heart breaking IP: Logged |
blue moon
Moderator Posts: 887
From: U.K
Registered: Dec 2007
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posted March 11, 2008 05:21 AM
That's right, YFIS, Danny Scheinmann. It is a best seller here, after being touted by Richard & Judy, a cheesy day time talk show couple. All their choices hit the top of the charts. They do a 'Book Club' section on their show. IP: Logged |
Lindaland
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