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Journalism of Courage
A video of a mother elephant standing by the lifeless body of her calf, struggling to accept its death, has moved viewers worldwide. Captured by ADFO Jayanta Mondal, the video was shared on X by Indian Forest Service officer Parveen Kaswan. The footage shows the grieving mother attempting to comprehend the loss of her calf, dragging the body.
Kaswan shared the video saying, “#Elephant Mother not able to comprehend death of her calf. She keeps dragging body for some time – at times for days. They are so like us – they are so humane. This is not our first such case, it is filmed by ADFO Shri Jayanta Mondal. I personally have seen few such instances in last many years of field service. At times the whole herd do the ritual – that looks like a funeral procession.”
Watch the video here:
The video garnered over 150,000 views, with many expressing deep sympathy for the elephant. One user wrote, “An elephant mother grieving her calf shows their emotional depth and strong bonds. It inspires empathy but also reminds us to respect wildlife and their natural behaviours without overly humanizing them.”
Another person wrote, “They are better than us in many ways. Despite some humans treating them so poorly, they still do not attack or trample our entire kind. And more importantly, they don’t attack each other.”
A third individual said, “Love is the only common language which everyone can speak and understand.. there is grief only because there is love.”
