Are We Going To Lose Them Forever: Elephant Mother - A Story of Memory, Love and Survival

Elephants don't just live on earth. They remember earth.

Elephants return to every path they travelled, every river they had crossed. When a herd loses one of its own, they stand in silence, touching the bones with their trunks…as if whispering a final goodbye. They return to the same place even several years later. All these only prove that elephants remember routes they travelled.

How Elephants Support Ecosystem?

Elephants play an important role in the ecosystem.

Elephants shape the world around them. When they push down old trees, light reaches the forest floor, helping new plants grow.

When they dig for water, they create life for other animals too.

When food is scarce, they walk great distances, spreading seeds through their dung — planting forests without ever knowing it.

If elephants cease to exist, the entire ecosystem would collapse. Though the effect will not be immediate, it is also not preventable.

If elephants cease to exist, forests would cease to breathe.

Exceptional Memory Power of Elephants

Elephant has the biggest brain among land animals. It is very complex as well.

Their emotional traits make their brains exceptional.

Elephants remember their friends and enemies for years.

They return to the place where the remains of their members were found. They gently touch the bones with their trunks.

Elephants live in families led by the oldest female —the matriarch — the library of the herd. She remembers ancient paths, waterholes that existed decades ago, safe forests, dangerous plains and places their ancestors once walked. This wisdom is passed down like a sacred inheritance from grandmother… to mother… to daughter… over generations.

An elephant herd is not only a family. It is a library of life experiences.

When the matriarch of a herd is killed, the entire family may lose its stability and ancient wisdom the matriarch had been handed over by her mother.

Longest Childhood on Land

It takes 18 years for an elephant calf to become an independent adult. During this phase they learn:

To identify plants that heal and plants that harm
To sense danger from vibrations on earth.
When to move away from a place, when to wait and when to stand their ground.

A calf learns all these from its mother.

Long childhood strengthens the bond with their families. But there is an other side, a painful side to it. If a mother elephant gets killed to some reason, her young ones will be deprived of the opportunity of learning ancient wisdom from their mother. This affects not just one calf, but generations to come.

Silent War and Declining Elephant Population

One of the most important reasons for declining elephant population is habitat loss.

Forests are fragmented by roads and those who construct buildings in forests.

These human activities block the paths elephants have been using for ages.

This results in human-elephant conflicts leading to severe loss in elephant population.

In most places, elephants have just two choices - either they have to stay hungry and die miserably or be punished for entering human occupied space for food.

Elephants did not start the war. But, they are paying the price.

Saving Elephants and Saving Humans

Elephants shape forests. Forests help to regulate climate. Stable climate supports life on earth.

This is the chain of life, which is as simple as it can be. Protecting elephants involves more than emotional element, it is essential for the entire ecosystem.

If elephants live, rivers will run longer, forests will thrive and lands will be stable.

If elephants are lost, we will face the worst consequences in course of time. It may not be immediate but it cannot be prevented.

Let us save elephants and save nature.

Rama Thamizharasu

Welcome. I am a yoga therapist, SEO consultant, content creator and translator.
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