The aforementioned injured biped benefits from the compassion of others and is able to survive because others bring it food and water and provide it with shelter and protection. Leakey showed slides of skeletons over a million years old, one with an almost completely healed broken thigh bone and another who lived years with a severe skeletal deformity. This is proof that somewhat early humans looked out for each other and didn't just leave the ailing and frail to waste away on the African savannah. Leakey spoke with incredible compassion about the plight of the world's animals. He showed slides of elephants and explained their familial structures and complex social messages.
Elephants appear to experience grief and spend time with the remains of dead kin.
They also cover the remains of dead animals with leaves and branches to protect them from scavengers. Leakey said many a drunk person has awakened in the savannah under foliage lovingly piled over them by elephants. These remarkable animals have even been known to protect smaller prey animals by driving lions away from them. Sadly, man's demand for ivory trinkets has threatened the world's elephant population. It is likely that the ban on ivory trade will be lifted next year, and elephants will once again be prime targets for hunting.