Of all the wild animal species in the world, elephants seem to be the most fascinating ones. From truly impressive features such as their long term memory to funnier characteristics such as their supposed fear of mice, everything about this creatures is intriguing. However, above all of these things, lies a truly remarkable thing: emotions.

Elephants are capable of feeling joy, sadness, love, jealousy, grief, distress and compassion. Therefore, we should also point out that we’re not the only species with such a wide range of emotions. And that’s not the only thing we have in common with them.

The average life span of an elephant is 70 years old. These wild animals are used to living in herds and they are very strongly attached to one another (sounds familiar?). When an elephant dies, every member of the herd mourns for an extended period of time.

Elephants are capable of targeted helping, which is the ability to help another creature in a way that is suited for that specific situation. In some cases, they even help other species than their own.

When they are raised in captivity, elephants develop a mental state called learned helplessness. While in this state, the elephant is indifferent to anything that happens around it and mainly emotionless. This state is more of a defense mechanism that occurs in order to avoid punishment.

Over 100,000 elephants in Central Africa were killed by poachers in just 3 years.