A herd of up to 300 elephants stayed close to their leader and mourned following its death at the hands of a rival tusker in Sri Lanka.

Footage captured on September 16 near Anuradhapura, close to the Kalawewa reserve, shows how the crowd of elephants softly caress the leader's corpse just after it was killed by a rival.

The sight drew the attention of locals, who went to film the scene.

According to a wildlife official, the rival tusker returned to the corpse once the rest of the herd had left.

A herd of wild elephants stayed close to the carcass of another elephant killed in an attack by a tusker in the wild close to Kalaweva in Anuradhapura. According to wildlife officials, this elephant was leading several herds in the forest reserve adjoining Kalawewa. However, this elephant had been killed after being attacked by a tusker in the same forest.The deceased elephant had reportedly engaged in a conflict with a tusker roaming around KalaWewa, for several days, according to the Wildlife Officers.After being critically attacked by the tusker, the leader of the herd had died on 16th September.The elephants had gathered near the carcass of their leader as if to pay their last respects. It was a scene that drew attention of many people in the area. The elephants were seen touching and caressing the carcass in a possible gesture of their love and respect to their departed leader in the wild.The elephants of a herd take protective measures to protect their leader when they sense an imminent danger, and such incidents are a rare sight to be witnessed.The tusker which killed the leader of the elephant herd had returned to attack the deceased elephant once the rest of the elephants had left the area.