A striking photograph taken in Namibia has revealed a rare elephant behavior that offers a profound insight into the emotional lives of these majestic creatures. The image, captured by wildlife photographer Federico Veronesi, earned him the grand title at the 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. It shows a 14-year-old female desert elephant carrying a stillborn calf—one that was not her own—for hours, providing a deeply moving example of empathy, loss, and possibly the complex processing of grief.
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## An Intimate Moment Unfolds
In September 2025, Veronesi followed a herd of desert elephants along a dry riverbed in the wilds of Namibia. What drew his attention were drag marks in the sand. Closer examination revealed a stillborn calf caught between a female elephant’s trunk and tusk, its body limp and soft—evidencing it had died only moments, or even hours, before.
That female then carried the calf for hours. She intermittently put it down to drink or feed, only to lift it again and proceed along their journey. Veronesi described the moment as “intimate, almost spiritual.”
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## A Behaviours Beyond the Expected
At first glance, the natural assumption might be that this was a mother transporting her own calf. But research reveals otherwise. Christin Winter of Elephant-Human Relations Aid (EHRA), a conservation organisation focused on Namibia’s desert elephants, confirmed that this particular female is not the infant’s mother. In fact, she lost her own calf two years prior. Since then, she has carried the stillborn calves of other elephants on four separate occasions.
Winter and Veronesi believe this pattern may reflect emotional processing. Too much loss can leave deep wounds, and she may be seeking to reconnect with her own calf by caring for others. There’s also speculation she might have been protecting the corpse from predators. Whatever her motives, the behaviour signals emotional depths we rarely witness.
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## The Plight of Namibia’s Desert Elephants
These elephants are not a separate species but are an ecotype of the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) adapted to survive in the harsh desert environment. They roam across five dry riverbeds, including the Huab River, often travelling great distances and feeding on scant resources like Ana tree seedpods and floodplain grasses. Their survival owes much to learned behaviour passed across generations—knowledge that is easily lost.
Sadly, their numbers have been falling. Over the past two decades, high newborn mortality, persistent drought, and increasing human-wildlife conflict have taken a heavy toll. Between 2014 and 2022, only two calves out of sixteen born survived past birth alone.
Calves that were stillborn often weigh substantially less than healthy ones. A typical newborn calf weighs between 100–120 kg (220–265 lbs), while many stillborn desert elephant calves weigh only around 60–65 kg (132–143 lbs). Researchers believe chronic stress from human disturbances and harsh environmental conditions may leave expectant mothers underprepared to carry their offspring to full term.
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## Probing Causes: Stress, Genetics, Environment
To determine what is driving such high rates of infant mortality, EHRA has teamed up with scientist Dr. Daniella Chusyd from Indiana University Bloomington. Their studies will assess genetic diversity, endocrine health, and exposure to environmental toxins—particularly heavy metals and PFAS, or “forever chemicals.” Samples of elephant dung will reveal insights into thyroid function and stress hormone levels. The project is scheduled to run through 2028.
In addition, researchers will examine the pedigree of surviving calves versus those that did not make it, seeking signs of inbreeding or other genetic factors that might affect resilience.
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## Emotional Fatigue and Conservation Ethics
Wildlife expert Joyce Poole, co-founder of Elephant Voices, described Veronesi’s photographs as “really harrowing.” She recalled witnessing similar behaviour in Kenya: a mother elephant grieving a stillborn infant, persistently lifting or defending the calf’s body over two days. Poole hopes the images will deepen public awareness that elephants are capable of grief and that suffering shapes much of their lives in ways many humans seldom consider.
Poole also sounded the alarm about threats to desert elephants beyond existential heartbreak. “Desert elephants are being pushed to the brink of extinction, not just by climate change but by the trophy hunting permits allowed by the Namibian government.” She argues that conservation must go beyond protecting a species’ numbers to safeguard the welfare of each individual.
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## Reflections on Grief, Loss, and Conservation
The behaviour Veronesi documented helps expose dimensions of elephant life we often assume are uniquely human. Her ongoing act of carrying a stillborn calf following her own loss two years ago points to memory, mourning, and perhaps a form of psychological pain.
It also underscores just how fragile this desert elephant population is. With fewer than 150 individuals surviving in dwindling habitats, each lost calf, each disturbed herd, represents both a personal tragedy and a broader ecological crisis. As the desert elephants’ genetic knowledge, migration routes, and survival skills dissipate, so too might their ability to navigate an even more imperilled world.
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## Final Thoughts
Veronesi’s profound photograph won’t just be remembered for its visual power. It’s forcing us to reconsider what it means to feel, to suffer, and to grieve beyond our own species. The female elephant’s repeated behavior of carrying stillborn calves is likely driven by personal loss, emotional need, or maybe both. It invites us to treat elephants not simply as components of ecosystems or subjects of conservation, but as individual beings with interior lives.
In the end, these moments of vulnerability are powerful, uncomfortable reminders that pushing any species towards extinction—or even brinkmanship—means wiping out more than population counts. It means accelerating the erasure of emotional depth, individual sorrow, and the rich, intricate social world elephants carry with them into the desert.
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