There’s no bond stronger than that of family.
This is true of both your family by blood or a chosen family. Your family members are the people you care about above all else and who you can always call on when you need help.
Humans aren’t the only ones that understand the importance of family. Animals have strong familial bonds too!
In the video below, a herd of elephants are on the move in Kruger National Park when suddenly a baby girl stops for a much-needed break. You can almost feel her body pulling her eyes closed!
But she can’t rest just yet — she happens to be in the middle of the road and in danger of getting hit.
She’s clearly very young, and she doesn’t understand the danger of stopping in the road. All she knows is she’s exhausted and she need a nap.
What her family does next is truly heartwarming.
The baby elephant’s herd comes running into the road, and they surround her, protecting her from anything that would harm her. They stay with her even as she refuses to move.
Adorably, another baby elephant helps out and tries to get his friend to move.
Finally, after lots of coaxing from her elders, the little one gets up and leaves the road for the much-safer savannah grass. It’s amazing to see how much patience the older elephants have. They let the little one get up in her own time, and they protect her until she’s ready to move.
After watching this video, you may have some questions about how elephant families work.
An article from The Independent dives more into this. They say:
“Elephant families have a matriarchal head, meaning that an older, experienced lady elephant leads the herd. A family usually consist of a mother, her sisters, daughters their babies (calves). Occasionally, non-related elephants join to form families. Female family units range from three to twenty five elephants… Elephants are known to develop strong, intimate bonds between friends and family members. There have been reports of elephants forming lifelong friendships with each other, and they even mourn the death of their loved ones.”
The video of the elephant family went hugely viral, garnering over 14 million views.
Many YouTube commenters shared their love for the video. One commenter said:
“This warms my heart! I’ve always had a special affinity for elephants, this just reminds me why!! Thanks so much for sharing.”
Another said:
“I love how caring they are for one another, but the other baby one stole my heart when it was trying to help too. 💓”
These elephants clearly care about each other so much, and it’s wonderful to see them all interact together in their natural habitat. We’re so glad these elephants all have each other.
Check out the video below!
Please SHARE this with your family and friends.