by DAME DAPHNE SHELDRICK

Last updated at 08:44 16 August 2006

To be able to understand an elephant, you need to think like a human. That's what I tell my staff at the elephant orphanage I founded in Nairobi National Park.

Time and again, my experience is borne out: whether it is in their tremendous grief at the death of a beloved relative, in the face of sickness or in joy at seeing an old friend again, these gentle giants act exactly like us, as these extraordinary pictures show.

Gallery: see more amazing pictures of grieving elephants here



The dramatic images show one elephant, Grace, struggling to help another — 40-year-old matriarch Eleanor — who lies dying from a snake bite.

The footage, shot by scientists at Samburu National Reserve in Kenya, show Grace calling out in distress and making desperate attempts to get the dying elephant back onto her feet.

Sadly, her efforts were unsuccessful. The next day, Eleanor's lifeless body was visited by other elephants, who rocked back and forth in mourning or stood silently, paying their last respects.

The research team from Oxford University's Department of Zoology, the charity Save The Elephants and the University of California report the episode in a forthcoming study to be published in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science.

It is a moving testament to these emotional creatures, but not one that surprises me.

In fact, I am always amazed that academics still don't seem to understand that these wonderful beasts experience the whole gamut of human emotion.

Having worked with elephants for 50 years, I have seen countless examples of these animals behaving exactly as we would. They live in close-knit family groups, and show remarkable compassion to one another.

Orphans come to us from all over Kenya, some just a few days old. Their mothers may have been poached for their ivory, usually slaughtered in front of their young. When an orphan arrives, the others gather around to comfort the little one.

Often, the baby will be traumatised, emaciated and panic-stricken. Their grief is manifest. They stand there dejected, with tears in their eyes.

The older elephants will calm the orphan, and gradually bring him back to life, nurturing and distracting him — just as we would a bereaved child.

Over the years, I have learned to my great cost that elephants can form deep relationships with their human companions, as well as their own kind.

Many years ago, I was hand-rearing a baby elephant, Aisha, and for six months I rarely left her side.

Then I had to go away because my daughter was getting married. When I returned, Aisha had died of a broken heart.

When I realised what I had done, I, too, was heartbroken.

Aisha's death taught me a valuable and humbling lesson: never underestimate these noble creatures' emotions.

¦ DAME Daphne Sheldrick was talking to Zoe Brennan.

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