Elephant Walked Over 15 Miles To Bid Farewell And Pay Respects To His Best Friend Of 25 Years

Oct 21, 2021

Elephants are incredible creatures with big, compassionate hearts. Their ability to love and build friendships also extends to the humans who may be included in their daily life. One such friendship was between the elephant Brahmadathan and his trainer and Mahout Damodaran Nair. Nair is better known as Omanachettan among his community in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. 

Brahmadathan and Omanachettan were friends for 25 years. They performed together in festivals and grew a close bond over the decades. At a performance in 2003, another elephant tried to take a swing at Omanachettan, but Brahmadathan quickly moved to block the hit and protected his Mahout. The trainer loved his elephant, and their last festival together was in April 2021. 

Omanachettan began to grow very ill due to cancer in late May 2021, and he passed away on June 3. His son Rajesh said that his father's last wish was to see his elephant companion. However, Brahmadathan did not arrive to say goodbye until after his passing. The elephant walked over 15 miles to reach Omanachettan and paid his last respects to his trainer. 

In a video that was posted to Twitter, you can see Brahmadathan walk through a crowd of people that are mourning Omanachettan. The elephant walked up to the body of his Mahout and gently touched him with his trunk. He then waved his trunk up and down several times. At one point, you can see Rajesh walk down and place his hand on Brahmadathan's trunk and tusk as they said goodbye together. Keep reading to learn more about this touching moment.

The bond that this man had with his elephant was as close as family. "Until last week, Omanachettan was active as Brahmadathan's Mahout. They developed a deep relationship over the past many years. He considered Brahmadathan as his son," said Rajesh to The News Minute.

He added, "It was Omanachettan's last wish to see his favorite elephant … That's when we decided to fulfill his last wish. We then brought the elephant from my house in Melampara to Lakkattoor (both in Kottayam), which is 25 kilometers away from each other." 

Brahmadathan's appearance at the funeral is exactly what Omanachettan would have wanted. Rajesh shared: "In my opinion, it was the best honor for Omanachettan. We considered Omanachettan as our family member. Brahmadathan, too, is our family member. It was a special relationship between the elephant and Mahout. He was known for his skill to train elephants."

The video of the elephant paying his final respects to his Mahout went viral on Twitter. It was posted by Parveen Kaswan from the Indian Forest Service. Kaswan wrote in his tweet: "Touching. Elephant paying last respect to his Mahout." The video has been viewed nearly 50,000 times, and many people left comments sharing their sympathies as well. One person commented, "Made my eyes teary. What an unmatched love by this Giant for his master." 

Another user added: "We cannot understand his language, but we can understand his feelings." PBS suggests that elephants grieve deeply and experience a mourning process similar to what humans go through after a loss. From the way we saw Brahmadathan behaving in the video, it is clear that Omanachettan was important to him.

Did you find this video moving? Do you love elephants? Let us know what you think, and be sure to send this on to your friends and family.