This photo of an elephant weeping will ruin your Friday

Unless your heart is made of stone

Sad elephant
(Image credit: REUTERS/China Daily)
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If you can stomach the why of these tragic and visible tears, read on.

Just days after this baby elephant was born in late August, its mother stomped on it, injuring its legs. Hoping the incident was an accident, the keepers returned the infant, after it recovered, to its mother — who went right back to trying to kick it to death.

The calf was rescued by a zoo keeper and was taken to a separate enclosure where the above photo was taken. The abandoned animal reportedly wept for five hours. "He couldn't bear to be parted from his mother and it was his mother who was trying to kill him," a keeper said.

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Before you go taking a long walk off of a short pier, there is good news and a happy follow-up photo!

That's better. (REUTERS/China Daily)

This image was reportedly taken just three days after the near filicide. The keeper who rescued the little elephant, who is now called Zhuang-zhuang, has reportedly adopted him and the two are getting along swimmingly. "They have made a good bond," a zoo spokesman said. "We don't know why the mother turned on her calf, but we couldn't take a chance [that she would do it again]."

If you're still depressed (understandably), here is a video of a Golden Retriever puppy and a toddler: (h/t Huffington Post).

Lauren Hansen
Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.

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