One of the ways people show their affection for their friends is through gentle teasing. As long as nobody’s feelings get hurt, there’s nothing wrong with that.
But you have to make sure the teasing doesn’t get out of hand.
While teasing looks different now than it did a decade or so ago, the principles still hold true. Someone wants to make themselves feel big and secure by making you feel small.
Well, you better make sure the person you tease doesn’t have an elephant.
There are those rare “good people” in the world who step up when they see something bad happen.
There is always a bigger fish in the pond. Words to live by, right?
While bullies may not always consider this, they get taught a lesson if they pick on someone who has a friend that’s bigger than them. As a middle schooler, messing with someone who has an older brother in high school isn’t a great idea.
As it turns out, that rule of thumb applies in the wild, too.
If you are going to pick on someone in the wild, make sure they don’t have friends that are bigger than you!
One man in Chiang Mai, Thailand, hilariously learned that lesson when he “messed” with his friend.
In a viral video, we see the protective nature of elephants play out.
Two friends want to see how Thonsri, one of their elephants at the nature park, reacts when they pretend to fight with her caretaker.
The bandana man is the “offender” and runs out into a field to “attack” Thongsri’s friend.
She wastes no time in reacting.
Right when the man in the bandana throws the caretaker on the ground, we hear a trumpeting call and the jingling of a harness!
Right when they see that Thongsri is on her way, the attacker runs!Thongsri stands guard over her friend.
The protective elephant makes sure nobody else is going to hurt him. That’s one good friend. Thongsri didn’t just run off the attacker, though.
She stayed and helped her friend get back up.
All of this just goes to show how truly loving and caring these creatures can be.
It makes sense that elephants are so smart.
They have the largest brains of any animal on land! The cool thing about elephants is that they aren’t just intelligent creatures, they are empathetic.
It’s that empathy that spurred Thongsri to help her friend when he needed it!
Wikipedia says:
“Elephants manifest a wide variety of behaviors, including those associated with grief, learning, mimicry, play, altruism, use of tools, compassion, cooperation, self-awareness, memory, and communication. Further, evidence suggests elephants may understand pointing…”
I would say that the attacker learned a valuable lesson that day.There’s a good life lesson here: if you’re getting picked on, be sure to get an elephant on your side.