Animals Are Sad When Others Die!

Animals Are Sad When Others Die!

Damini the elephant had lived a hard life for many years. Nobody knows who her parents were,
or where she was born, but when she was 72 years old, she was rescued from people who were
illegally transporting her. After five months alone at the Prince of Wales Zoo in Lucknow, India,
she made friends with another elephant, Champakali, who had come to live at the zoo.



Champakali had come to the zoo from the Dudwha National Park, 310 miles southeast of
New Delhi. Champakali’s days were spent forced to give rides to tourists. When it was learned
that she was going to have a baby, park officials decided to send her to the zoo. Zoo workers
worried about how to take care of the mother elephant, but Damini adopted Champakali as her
‘little sister’. The two elephants became fast friends, spending all of their time together, communicating
with soft rumbles and caresses.
Elephants are very social animals who bond with each other and form very close friendships.
Elephants are known to take care of each other, too, and watch out for each other’s babies. When young
or sick elephants are in danger, the other elephants work together to help them. When elephants die, the
other elephants comfort the surviving members of the family. Elephants touch the bones of elephants
who have died. Experts say that this is their way of remembering the elephants who are no longer with
them. Champakali and Damini had become like sisters. When Champakali and her baby died of medical
complications, Damini shed real tears. Soon, she stopped eating and showed little interest in anything
else. For 24 days, the zoo workers and veterinarians tried everything they could do to save Damini, but
despite all of their efforts, she died. Zoo workers said that Damini was heartbroken over the loss of her
friend Champakali and no longer had anything to live for. Experts believe that if Champakali had had other
elephants to comfort her during that sad time, she may not have died.