The rest of the herd appears to also mourn, stand by the calf

May 2, 2013 08:57 GMT  ·  By

In late last year, a wildlife photographer witnessed a baby elephant calf refusing to leave its mother's side, despite the fact that the latter was dead. A video of this event has just now made it online.

According to the people who witnessed the scene, the baby elephant spent a total of four hours sitting close to its mother's corpse.

As shown in the video above, the rest of the herd did not abandon the two, and remained by the calf's side. In fact, some say that the other elephants also wished to say goodbye to the calf's mum.

Those who caught the incident on camera say that they have no idea why it was that this animal passed away. Thus, it appears that the elephant merely collapsed while traveling with its herd.

“I had a lump in my throat as I watched on. We were all in complete shock over the incredible behavior that we were witnessing,” wildlife photographer Sarah Skinner said.