You’ve got to wonder how evolved we are as a species when a “lesser” species seems to value life more than we do.
This is beautiful and so, so sad. Having lost a child to heart defects, it is strange and lovely to feel a kinship with a mother of another species. Elephants are possessed of a deep, alien, animal intelligence that we don’t really understand. They are amazing creatures; this grieving behavior has been well-documented and difficult to explain.
I find myself surprisingly close to tears when I look at that tiny figure surrounded by those gigantic creatures. That the largest, most powerful land mammal is capable of such tenderness is proof of a benevolent creator, in my opinion. It’s beautiful and it hurts. Loss is so strange in that, on one hand, you wish the pain would just go away, but on the other, you don’t want to give up the experience that caused you such pain.
I’m still taken by surprise by how powerfully moving this picture is. It’s like a emotional sucker punch.
Goodbye, Lola.
Thanks, Life.
It striking how sad the mom looked. And her efforts to try to stir the little elephant with her trunk. Very sad. Thanks for sharing that story.