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If you've seen the timeless childhood classic The Lion King,you should recall Simba and Nala's adventure past the Pride Lands and into the forbidden elephant graveyard.This strange and mysterious place, piled with elephant bones,is only a myth.However,all myths are steeped in truth.Are they not?

According to fairy tale, this is a mythical place where older or ill elephants instinctively go in anticipation of their death-alone, far from the elephant groups and not slowing down the progress of those that remain behind. Yet, is there any chance that one of these secret places could be real? No one has ever found one, but according to some experts on elephant behaviour, it's not unthinkable that such a place could exist. Realistically, elephants could die massively in one place for any number of reasons. Natural disasters such as lightning strikes,localized flooding,or food(water) - shortages drive starving elephants to gather in places where finding food is easier. These animals are already fragile and many of them may die in the same area.

But, does that mean that the conscious practice of “elephant graveyards” by the animals is purely mythical? Perhaps not. Researchers from the UK have recently proved that elephants show strong interest and emotion if they come across the remains of other elephants. Their behavior suggests that they recognize their most close relatives. Whole families can spend hours or even days attending the bones of a herd member.

Few species other than humans demonstrate the same type of awareness in death of their own kind. Chimpanzees have been known to obey certain rituals(仪式)around their dead and will only abandon a body of a relative once it begins to decompose. Lions have also been known to show emotions to dead family members by sniffing or licking the body prior to devouring(吞食)it. This idea lends another origin of the elephant graveyard: a place where elephants gather to mourn the bones of their dead.