A driver not only saw a parade of elephants pass by in front of him, but he got an unexpected “thanks” from them.
This is a video of Thai TikTok user thanakrit8181, who stopped to let a herd of elephants cross the road (look at all those babies!) when one of the elephants bringing up the rear stopped to wave a thank you.
The large and majestic herd — consisting of elephants big and small — makes their way across the road, with the humans keeping a safe distance to let them pass.
Elephant crossings like this are not that unusual, but an unexpected gesture from one of the elephants made this an especially memorable encounter.
When the parade of elephants reaches the end, one of the final elephants turns to the car waiting in the road, and makes a gesture with its trunk as if to say “thanks!”
There’s something very familiar about the gesture: It’s the kind of “wave” you’d give another human driver for giving you the right of way on the road to show your thanks. It’s just one of the many ways elephants have exhibited human-like behavior.
The video has now been viewed millions of times on different social media platforms.
It’s definitely an incredible sight to see and must’ve been an unbelievable moment for that driver.
What a sweet story. The elephants seem to really appreciate the man letting them cross the road.