Elephants are known for being some of the most intelligent creatures in the animal kingdom. Like humans, they develop close bonds with their loved ones, and they experience many of the same emotions that people do.

Elephants have so much compassion and empathy for others that they can't just sit back and watch someone be attacked without stepping in to do something. The viral video below this story is a classic example of this!

Meet Throngsi, a 17 year-old elephant who lives in a sanctuary in Chiang Mai, Thailand. She is looked after very well by the staff there, and she has developed close bonds with her caretakers.

Warning: Account balances and purchasing power no longer tell the same story. Know in 2 minutes if your retirement is working for you.

The caretakers wanted to show the world just how much Throngsi loves them, and also how intelligent she really is. To go about this, they set up a camera and pretended to fight, wanting to see how the elephant would react. Without hesitating, Throngsi charges in to help the caretaker who appears to be losing the fight. The elephant circles the caretaker protectively, making sure that any potential threat cannot get to him.

In this video, Throngsi shows how loving and protective elephants can be towards their human friends! This is why as humans, we should do everything we can to help these intelligent creatures in return. The amount of love and compassion elephants have for others makes things like elephant poaching all the more heartbreaking.

Check out the video below, and SHARE this story so your friends and family can see this as well!

The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of BoredTrashPanda.com. Contact us for guidelines on submitting your own commentary.