Elephants group themselves into herds of young females and calves. And the herd is led by their matriarch.
In this elephant park, Kham La was leading her herd home along the river.
This was pretty normal since herds have formed a lifelong fellowship with each other, thereby protecting each other.
On this particular day though, one of the elephants smelled something different.
A strange smell was coming from the docks.
The elephant went closer to the floating deck to investigate and called the other elephants in their herd to do the same.
A social event
Elephants are social with each other so it was no surprise that they all went and investigated the dock.
They actually came running towards the dock and stayed there until they found out what was wrong.
They kept investigating the top and under the dock, looking for the source of the unusual smell.
Elephants always live near a water source because they also need water to protect their skin from the sun and heat.
And since they live by the water most of the time, they know when something is amiss or unusual.
Eventually, the Elephant Nature Park staff found out there was a dead rat under the deck. If not for the elephants, the rat would probably not be discovered until much later or even at all.
Once the elephants made their discovery, the matriarch led them back again through the river and back to their home.
And they always walked in a line “because it is safer and they believe that the matriarch (the female leader) knows where to go.”
Elephants have their own language
It comes in the form of the different calls they emit in different situations.
The elephant who sensed the different smell let out a low, long call, which was answered with a high-pitched call.
It’s really interesting to hear them respond to each other with the different calls.
The elephants even raised their trunks as if to invite the others to come to them and investigate.
And when they got to the dock, they crowded around it to look for the source.
If humans used their hands to search for things or the source, elephants used their trunks. They actually use their trunks to collect food, make sounds, and identify smells.
Because elephants always travel in herds, the other elephants stayed in the area until the head or the matriarch deemed it okay to move forward.
Before they leave, the matriarch makes sure every elephant is accounted for and that they’re all ready to move.
Once they’re all in place, the matriarch leads them again in a line to their destination.
The elephants respect their matriarch because they believe she knows best and that’s why they will always follow her.
Elephant herds are together for the rest of their lives.
Watch these elephants gather to pay respects in the video below!
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