THIS is the poignant moment an elephant herd gathered to pay their final respects to their dead leader after he was killed by a rival.

Heartbreaking footage shows some of the animals using their trunks to stroke the tragic mammal's carcass as he lay on the bank of a lake.

5 This heartbreaking scene shows a herd of elephants gathered around their leader after he was killed by a rival Credit: newsflare

Locals spotted the extraordinary scenes near Anuradhapura, close to the Kalawewa reserve in Sri Lanka and captured them on camera.

The video shows around ten elephants surrounding their dead leader but according to some reports, as many as 300 animals had gathered in tribute.

The giant was killed following a battle with a rival elephant who roams near the reserve, according to News First.

D. Ramasinghe, a wildlife official of the Galkiriyagama Wildlife Zone, told the newspaper that investigations revealed the elephant had received over twenty stabbings from a tusk.

5 Footage shows the animals caressing the dead elephant leader with their trunks Credit: newsflare

He confirmed that the wounds "undoubtedly" were the reason for the death of the largest elephant in the Kalawewa reserve herd.

Ramasinghe said that the elephants were seen gathering near the Kalawewa on Saturday morning in a gesture similar to that of paying last respects.

He said the body of the elephant was buried in the banks of the Kalawewa.

Experts have long thought elephants, along with dolphins and chimpanzees, have the ability to express emotion.

5 Investigations revealed the elephant had received over twenty stabbings from a tusk Credit: newsflare

5 Locals spotted the extraordinary scenes near Anuradhapura, close to the Kalawewa reserve in Sri Lanka Credit: newsflare

5 Experts have long studied elephants for their ability to express emotion, but it's not clear if they can show grief Credit: newsflare

It's unclear whether they have the human characteristics of grief, but there's certainly been observations of them showing great interest in the bodies of their dead.

According to the National Geographic, elephants have been known to scatter their family members' bones and even raise a foot over bodies.

When Samburu Reserve matriarch Eleanor died in 2003 her relatives pushed and pulled her carcass for nearly a week while some rocked back and forth and others stood in silence.

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Conservation biologist George Wittemyer, who has been studying elephants at the reserve since 1997, says: “Elephants have respect for their dead, but their interaction with their dead is not something we fully understand.

“Every time it happens, it’s not the same, but it is striking behaviour—not based on survival or necessity, but based on some sort of emotion.

"The fact that they interact and have behavioural interactions with their dead in a form that is not explainable in any simple, evolutionary context speaks to the deeper emotional lives of elephants that we can’t easily study.”

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