Elephant's graveyard

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According to popular myth, older elephants instinctively leave their group when they reach a certain age, and direct themselves toward a special area, known as the elephants' graveyard. They then die there alone, far from the group.

According to a hypothesis devised by Rupert Sheldrake, this myth is actually half true. The legend arose from the fact that elephant skeletons are, in fact, frequently found in groups near permanent sources of water. Elephants suffering from malnutrition instinctively, says Sheldrake, seek out sources of water in the hopes of improving their condition. The elephants that do not improve develop increasingly low blood sugar and eventually become comatose and die, near the water (and near the remains of other malnourished elephants). This is also the fate of old elephants, whose teeth become worn out, seeking out soft water plants.

Today it is used as a metaphor for any place, position, or station in life where one has basically reached the end, i.e., "out to pasture", "end of the line", "last roundup", etc.

[edit] Popular culture

The Disney animated film The Lion King featured a prominent scene in an elephant graveyard.
An episode of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest finds Jonny helping an elderly elephant reach the area.
In the film Tarzan and His Mate, the story centres around hunters searching for a mythical elephants' graveyard.
"Elephant Graveyard" is also a type of land card from the Arabian Nights set of the Magic: the Gathering CCG.