Indian scientists from the West Bengal Forest Department and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research have discovered that Asian elephants have ritualistic rituals to bid farewell to their offspring. The study was published in the scientific journal broadcasting Journal of Threatened Taxa (JTT).
As observations have shown, elephants conduct funeral rituals in which adults hold the baby elephant’s body by the trunk and limbs. After that, the carcass is buried upside down in the ground.
According to researchers, animals often use irrigation canals for burial. After this the herd trumpets loudly and roars for a while.
Later, the elephants leave the burial site and choose other migration routes, not returning there.
Scientists also found that such rituals are performed only for cubs, as adult elephants are too heavy to carry.
Asian elephants are considered a critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. An estimated 26,000 of them live in the wild, mostly in India and some in Southeast Asia. The average life expectancy of animals in the wild is 60-70 years.
Previously in South Africa filmed rare pink albino elephant calf.
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Source: Gazeta
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