Many cultures have attributed to animals a special sensitivity that transcends the tangible, a sixth sense that allows them to perceive human events and emotions with surprising depth. Among these abilities, one of the most fascinating and mysterious is the ability of some animals to sense when a person is near their end.
An elephant has perfectly exemplified this characteristic. This pachyderm, as can be seen in a viral video, entered a hospital to visit his human friend, an elderly man who was facing his last days. Apparently, this old man was the elephant's caretaker when he was a baby and, over the years, this friendship was not forgotten.
The elephant appears through the door crouching and heads towards the bed where its caretaker is, who is too weak to move. When he is next to the bed, the large animal tries to cover him with the blanket and one of the women who is in the room helps the old man to touch the trunk of her monumental friend for the last time.
Many users have wanted to comment on this exciting friendship video. "Some animals have more feelings than one," commented a tweeter who does not seem very happy with empathy between people. Another has also assured that "animals are the most sacred thing that exists."
Elephants have a special way of understanding and reacting to death, both of other elephants and possibly of humans. Although not much is known about how they act when a person dies, it has been proven that they feel and show respect when another elephant dies. For example, they may do things like gently touch the carcass of a deceased elephant, which indicates that they are truly sorry for its loss.
Because they remember so much and think so well, elephants probably also feel something special when a human they have lived with dies. But it's hard to know exactly how they react and whether everyone does them the same way.
