Photographer captures elephant's heartbreaking moment on camera

A US photographer has captured a heartbreaking image of an elephant mourning the loss of its fallen friend or family member.


John Chaney told news.com.au he was on safari in Botswana when he came across the carcass of the dead elephant surrounded by vultures and hyenas.

The park rangers were called to ensure poachers didn't remove its tusks but before they could get to it a female elephant charged over to the body and would not let anyone near it.

The elephant stood guard over the body for hours in a sort of "vigil" for its fallen friend.

"She was successful at chasing away the predators and then very slowly and with much empathy wrapped her trunk around the deceased elephants tusk," he told news.com.au "She stayed in this position for several hours guarding her friend."

Chaney said the shot was one of the most emotional pictures he'd ever taken.

"The image was not hard to film, however my heart was breaking watching the scene unfold in front of me," he said. "We were in a Range Rover with another couple and all of us had to wipe tears from our eyes. "

"Elephants are legendary for their memory and intelligence including attributes associated with grief, making music, altruism and compassion."

One elephant dies every 15 minutes. Last year 36,000 were killed for their tusks. At this rate elephants could face complete extinction by 2025.

But there is something you can do to stop it.

On Friday, October 4, there will be a March for Elephants as part of a global campaign to protect and preserve the magnificent creatures.

There are marches taking place in 15 cities across the world including Sydney and Melbourne.

The march is being organised by the David Sheldrick Wilflife Trust (DSWT) - a conservation group that rescues and hand-rears orphaned elephants, rehabilitating them to return to the wild.

If you can't march physically, you can also join the digital march by adding your name to the list of people around the world who say NO to the ivory trade. You can ask a friend to take a photograph of you with an iSupport poster and email it or tweet it to @iworrytrade.You can download a Timeline banner for your Facebook profile to help raise awareness, or you can donate much needed funds to the DSWT to help them to continue to care and protect its animals.

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