Heart-wrenching moment a baby elephant discovers her mother has died... and refuses to leave her side



Baby elephant stays by her side, keeping watch in Kenya’s Masai Mara

Stood by her mother for hours in the long grass

This is the heart-wrenching moment that a baby elephant stands by her dead mother’s side trying to wake her up.



The desperate calf nudges her mother with her trunk in an attempt to elicit a response.



Eventually she accepts that her mother has died, but refuses to leave her side, keeping watch over the body for hours in the long grass of Kenya’s Masai Mara.

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Desperate: This is the heart-wrenching moment that a baby elephant stands by her mother's side, mourning her tragic loss

Farewell: The elephant lifts her trunk as she is forced to say her final goodbye to her mother

Realisation: The dead elephant can be seen on its side as the herd encircle the body

Leaving: Even as the other elephants move away the baby prolongs its final moment with its mother

'It was an incredibly moving and emotionally charged moment.

'The young elephant simply refused to move from her mother’s side, occasionally feeling her body with her trunk.

'It became apparent that this elephant was really affected by her mother’s death.'

As the elephants that had congregated moved closer, some again touched her body with their trunks, while others just stood in silence and mourned their loss.

Heartbroken: The elephant reluctantly leaves its mother behind after the attack as the herd move away

Gazing with a curiosity and apparent sadness, the herd gently prod and circle their fallen leader.

Following the solemn procession, the herd moves off, leaving the baby to grieve alone by her mother's side.

She sits with her mother as the day draws to a close, continuing to affectionately nudge her trunk.

Even when there is an unwelcome arrival from a number of lions and hyenas, the elephant stands ground over her mother to guard her corpse long into the night.

Sarah, from Berkshire, added: 'It was an emotional scene that I will quite frankly never forget.'



