Elephant Graves Were Thought To Be A Myth, But Scientists Can Prove They Participate In Burial Rituals
In some parts of Asia and Africa, it is said that a mythical elephant graveyard scattered with valuable ivory lies in a super secret location, just waiting to be found.
According to folklore, dying elephants will head to the graveyard to pass in peace instead of potentially slowing down the rest of the herd in their travels.
Explorers have hunted for the site for hundreds of years, but no one has been successful in finding it.
The unfruitful searches have raised questions about the idea of elephant graveyards. Perhaps they don’t really exist. There’s no evidence that elephants seek out specific locations when they’re ready to die.
However, large numbers of elephant remains have been found to be concentrated within a small area before, which may have contributed to the legend.
Recently, Indian scientists documented five instances in which Asian elephant calves have been found buried on their backs with their legs pointed toward the sky. The study was published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa.
The calves were no more than a year old and were buried in irrigation trenches on tea estates in northern Bengal, India.
The surrounding ground was packed down by the feet of several elephants, showing that other herd members had dragged the calves’ bodies to these premade pits and covered them with soil.
The unusual positioning of the calves and the dragging of the bodies suggest that elephants perform intentional burial practices.
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The researchers discovered that the deceased calves were carried over long distances to tea plantations, where people had dug irrigation trenches that were about 26 inches deep.
They were then placed on their backs, with their legs poking out of the ground. It is believed that this burial position makes the carcass easier to carry and allows multiple elephants to participate in the ritual.
According to Akashdeep Roy, a researcher at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, the calf burials were well organized.
He added that the elephants seemed to have taken special care to cover the heads of the calves. An analysis revealed that the calves had all experienced natural deaths from infection or respiratory failure.
After the burials, the herd members would make trumpeting and roaring sounds as a way of expressing their grief.
They even steered clear from taking routes that would lead them near the calves’ graves, which may have to do with avoiding bad memories and paying respect to the departed.
Asian elephants aren’t the only ones to participate in burials. Previously, African forest elephants were observed covering their dead relatives and companions with branches and leaves. Elephants are also known to show a change in behavior as they approach the dead.
Based on their burial behavior, it appears that elephants seem to mourn the loss of their loved ones similarly to humans. So, it’s possible that ritualized burial practices may not be unique to humans.
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