Elephants Hold Apparent Vigil To Mourn Their Human Friend

A line of elephants approaching the Anthony house

Lawrence Anthony was a conservationist and author known as "The Elephant Whisperer". In 1999, he rescued and rehabilitated a group of wild South African elephants who were deemed dangerous. And the animals appear to remember what he did for them: when Anthony passed away March 2nd, a group of elephants visited his house in the South African KwaZulu for a two-day vigil, according to his family.

Anthony, who grew up in rural Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, was known for his unique ability to communicate with and calm traumatized elephants. In his book 'The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild', he tells the story of saving the elephant herds, at the request of an animal welfare organization.

Anthony concluded that the only way he could save these elephants, who were categorized as violent and unruly, was to live with them - "To save their lives, I would stay with them, feed them, talk to them. But, most importantly, be with them day and night".

When Anthony died of a heart attack, the elephants, who were grazing miles away in different parts of the park, travelled over 12 hours to reach his house. According to his son Dylan, both herds arrived shortly after Anthony's death. They hadn't visited the compound where Anthony lived for a year and a half, but Dylan says "they all hung around for about two days before making their way back into the bush".

While it's hard to say how they could have sensed that Anthony had died, elephants are known for their grieving rituals, both in the wild and in captivity. According to many researchers, elephants grieve the deaths of their relatives, as when a child or parent dies.

For another look at the emotional bonds that elephants may experience with one another, this short documentary details the experience of two elephants who were reunited in 2008 after 20 years in captivity:

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