The Complex Emotional Lives of Elephants: Joy, Grief, and Empathy

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They say an elephant never forgets, but how much truth is behind this adage? In reality, elephants truly do have incredible memories! This video shows us just how well elephants can remember — and how much they care for even those beyond their own species!

Asian Elephants

The Asian elephants featured in the video above live at the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand, a sanctuary and rescue center dedicated to caring for rescued elephants. Due to their dense forest habitat, it’s hard to accurately count the number of Asian elephants in the wilds of Thailand. However, experts estimate that there are only 1,500 to 3,000 individuals in the country. In the early 1900s, it was estimated that there were more than 100,000 elephants across Thailand, including both wild and domesticated animals. As human settlements grew and poachers targeted the animals, their numbers dropped drastically.

Emotional Intelligence and Elephant Relationships

Elephants are remarkably intelligent. They use tools, engage in cooperative tasks, understand basic physics, and can even cheat and trick others. But beyond these incredible characteristics, some of their most extraordinary attributes are their rich and sophisticated emotional intelligence and tight-knit connections with one another.

Familial bonds run deep in elephant herds — the strength of these connections may go even deeper than our own human relationships. An experienced matriarch leads the herd, which consists of her daughters, nieces, and granddaughters. Elephants recognize each member of their herd, not only by sight but also through the distinct sounds of their voices and calls.

Elephant calves form immediate bonds with their mothers. In the beginning, these young animals are essentially helpless and must rely on their mothers completely. When the time is right, a mother will introduce her calf to each elephant in the group, who personally greet the new addition with gentle touches from their trunks, soft humming, and reassuring rumbles. Each member of the herd consistently steps in and provides care to the young calves.

The Emotionally Complex Lives of Elephants

Elephants are deeply emotional beings and experience a rich spectrum of feelings, from grief and rage to joy and empathy. They express joy easily when they are with their families. Both young and old play games together and demonstrate their happiness by flapping their ears, swishing their tails, and entwining trunks. When a member of the herd is injured, the others immediately stop to help. They demonstrate altruism and will risk their own lives to protect the calves of the herd. This compassion can even extend beyond their own species. For example, when a black rhinoceros calf in Kenya got stuck in the mud, a group of elephants attempted to help it escape even as the rhino’s mother continually charged at the herd.

How Elephants Experience Joy

One of the most joyful moments for an elephant herd is the birth of a new calf. When a mother gives birth, the rest of the herd gathers to celebrate with joyful bellows, trumpeting calls, and other unique vocalizations.

Reunions are another supremely joyful experience for elephants, as seen in the video above. Upon recognizing a loved one, an elephant will call out and quicken its stride. The reunion may include many vocalizations, from calls and trumpets to almost cat-like purrs and rumbling sounds. Like the elephants in the video, these expressions of joy can also include enthusiastic ear flapping, gentle touches, body rubbing, and playful spinning.

The video above also illustrates another amazing aspect of elephant emotion, demonstrated by the elephants’ gentleness toward the man. Despite their massive size difference, the elephants are clearly aware of the man’s human fragility. This again illustrates the elephants’ profound intelligence and empathy. Darrick (the man in the clip) hadn’t seen these elephants for over a year and yet was recognized from a good distance away, and the elephants were visibly overjoyed to see their friend again.

How Elephants Experience Mourning

Elephants are not strangers to sorrow and grief and experience these emotions with the same intensity as their joy. Researchers have observed wild elephants gently touching the bones and bodies of deceased individuals and caressing them with their trunks as if to remember or say goodbye. Elephants have incredible long-term memories and there are anecdotal reports of elephants pausing quietly at sites where loved ones died years ago.

Recent studies in India documented Asian elephants mourning the loss of their calves in several different herds. Each time, the entire herd participated in the same mourning ritual, carrying the dead calf together with their trunks and burying it in an irrigation canal. One of the herds also trumpeted and roared as they mourned their lost calf.