Do Elephants Mourn Their Dead?

Stories of elephants standing silently over a dead companion are famous. Scientists wanted to know how widespread the behavior is and what it means. A 2020 review is the most thorough look so far.

What did the researchers study?

Shifra Goldenberg and George Wittemyer reviewed published field observations of elephants at carcasses and added their own observations from Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya. They reported their results in the journal Primates in 2020. The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says the review covered 32 original observations of wild elephant carcasses from 12 sources across Africa. Methods varied from source to source, but some patterns stood out.

What do elephants do around the dead?

Mostly they investigate. The most common behaviors were approaching the body, touching it, and examining it. Elephants also appeared to use their strong sense of smell to identify dead individuals. They were seen making sounds and trying to lift or pull recently dead elephants. The authors found these behaviors at every stage, from fresh carcasses to scattered, sun-bleached bones. In their own observations, elephants visited and revisited carcasses, stood still, and showed heightened interaction with each other nearby.

Does it depend on whether they were close?

Not much. The review found that elephants show broad interest in their dead regardless of the strength of their former relationship with the dead animal. That included animals that were not closely bonded.

What happened at Samburu?

After a matriarch named Victoria died, Goldenberg observed and filmed elephants coming to her body. According to Airmail’s report, a young daughter’s temporal glands were streaming, a sign linked to stress, and one of Victoria’s sons, who was among the last to leave, may have tried to move the body. Goldenberg told Down To Earth that her team thinks he possibly tried to lift her. Five other herds came to inspect the bones in the weeks after.

Does this mean elephants mourn?

The authors do not go that far. Goldenberg said the motives are hard to know and clearly varied across situations and individuals. They suggest that investigating the dead may help elephants update information about their social world. Elephants live in groups that split and merge over time, and they greet each other with long smelling and touching. Wittemyer said the behavior “so clearly indicates advanced feeling,” while the paper itself says only that the apparent emotion and the differences between individuals deserve more study. The review places its work in a growing field called comparative thanatology, the study of how animals respond to death.

Where can I learn more?

See Do Animals Understand Death?, How Primates Respond to Their Dead Infants, and Orca Mothers Who Carry Their Dead Calves.