Leaving Time
Chapter 4: Alice
by Picoult, JodiThe chapter explores the profound understanding of death among elephants, highlighting their unique grieving rituals. Unlike humans, elephants do not conceptualize afterlife but experience grief purely as loss. They show no interest in the bones of other species but exhibit reverence toward deceased elephants, even long after death. When encountering elephant remains, they approach cautiously, touching and smelling the bones with their trunks and feet, sometimes carrying them or rocking gently over fragments. This behavior suggests a deep, instinctual recognition of their own kind.
Elephant death rituals are well-documented by researchers, underscoring their consistency across observations. The chapter cites George Adamson’s account of elephants relocating the bones of a shot bull elephant back to its death site. Other renowned researchers, including Cynthia Moss and Joyce Poole, have recorded similar behaviors. The narrator, likely a field researcher, aligns their own observations with these findings, emphasizing the universality of elephant mourning practices. These rituals reflect a communal response to death, transcending individual herds.
A poignant example involves the matriarch Bontle, whose death is witnessed by the narrator in Botswana. Her herd’s immediate reaction—attempting to lift her, mounting her, and the calf’s desperate attempts to revive her—reveals their distress. Once Bontle dies, the elephants cover her body with leaves and dirt, standing vigil for days. Years later, the herd still pauses at the site of her remains, particularly her skull. The calf, now grown, interacts with the skull as if recognizing his mother, suggesting long-term memory and emotional attachment.
The chapter concludes by reinforcing the idea that elephants possess a sophisticated awareness of death, marked by rituals that mirror human mourning in their solemnity and persistence. Their actions—covering the body, returning to remains, and displaying quiet reverence—speak to an emotional depth that challenges simplistic views of animal cognition. The narrator’s firsthand account lends credibility to these observations, inviting readers to reconsider the boundaries of grief and memory in the animal kingdom.
FAQs
1. How do elephants demonstrate their understanding of death, according to the chapter?
Answer:
Elephants show their comprehension of death through distinct mourning behaviors. When encountering elephant remains, they approach cautiously in groups, touching and caressing the bones with their trunks and feet in a reverent manner. They may carry tusks or bones, or gently rock small ivory fragments underfoot. The chapter cites multiple examples, including a herd covering their deceased matriarch Bontle with leaves and dirt, standing vigil for days, and returning years later to pay respects to her scattered bones. These rituals indicate elephants recognize death as a significant event, particularly when it involves their own kind.2. What evidence suggests elephants recognize individual remains, not just general elephant bones?
Answer:
The chapter provides compelling evidence through the behavior of Bontle’s calf, Kgosi. Years after Bontle’s death, the now-adult male elephant specifically interacted with her skull by placing his trunk where her mouth once was—a gesture mirroring how calves greet their mothers. This targeted behavior implies personal recognition beyond general reverence for elephant remains. Additionally, the herd’s repeated visits to Bontle’s exact death site and their earlier attempts to revive her (including young males mounting her) demonstrate they perceived her as an individual, not just a conspecific carcass.3. How does the chapter contrast human and elephant perspectives on death?
Answer:
The author distinguishes that while humans often conceptualize death through abstract planning or religious afterlife beliefs, elephants experience grief as a direct response to loss. Their rituals focus on physical remains rather than metaphysical concepts, emphasizing sensory engagement—touching, smelling, and transporting bones. However, the chapter elevates elephant mourning by showing its complexity: they curate death sites (as with the relocated bones in Kenya), maintain long-term memory of deceased individuals, and exhibit behaviors (like covering bodies) that parallel human funerary practices. This suggests their understanding, while different from ours, is deeply emotional and socially significant.4. Why is the account of Bontle’s death particularly significant for understanding elephant cognition?
Answer:
Bontle’s case study is pivotal because it documents the full progression of elephant responses to death—from immediate attempts to revive her (lifting with tusks, mounting), to organized post-death rituals (covering her body), to sustained multi-year memorial behaviors. The herd’s coordinated actions reveal advanced social cognition, including teaching younger members to mourn (as seen with Kgosi). The prolonged vigil—interrupted only for necessities—also demonstrates intentionality. These observations, combined with citations from renowned researchers, position elephant mourning as a sophisticated, culturally transmitted practice rather than instinct alone.
Quotes
1. “There is no question that elephants understand death. They may not plan for it the way we do; they may not imagine elaborate afterlives like those in our religious doctrines. For them, grief is simpler, cleaner. It’s all about loss.”
This opening statement establishes the chapter’s central theme - elephants’ profound yet uncomplicated understanding of mortality. It contrasts human and elephant perspectives on death, framing the subsequent observations.
2. “Elephants are not particularly interested in the bones of other dead animals, just other elephants… They approach the carcass as a group, and caress the bones with what can only be described as reverence.”
This quote demonstrates elephants’ species-specific mourning rituals, highlighting their unique behavioral responses to death. The description of their “reverence” suggests an emotional depth comparable to human practices.
3. “The herd stood solemnly with Bontle’s body for two and a half days, leaving only to get water or food, and then returning.”
This observation of prolonged vigil behavior provides concrete evidence of elephant grief. The duration and dedication shown mirror human mourning customs, reinforcing the chapter’s argument about elephants’ emotional intelligence.
4. “Clearly these bones had general significance to him. But if you had seen it, I think you’d believe what I do: that he recognized that these particular bones had once been his mother.”
This powerful conclusion suggests elephants may have long-term memory and recognition capabilities regarding deceased relatives. The personal account lends credibility to the scientific observations while creating an emotional connection with readers.