Not many people can say that they’ve cuddled with a baby elephant, which is why what happens in the video below is so incredibly special!

In the viral video below, a man is seen lying on the ground while a baby elephant smothers him with hugs and kisses! The unlikely duo look like they could both not be any happier!

While what happens in this clip is certainly a rarity, it really isn’t that surprising given how intelligent elephants are. Unbeknownst to many people, elephants are considered some of the most intelligent creatures in the animal kingdom. This was only recently discovered, since most intelligence studies have been conducted on elephants in the past ten years.

“Because of recent experiments designed with the elephant’s perspective in mind, scientists now have solid evidence that elephants are just as brilliant as they are big,” said elephant expert Ferris Jabr. “They are adept tool users and cooperative problem solvers; they are highly empathic comforting one another when upset; and they probably do have a sense of self.”

Ed Stewart, President and Co-founder of PAWS, think that the intelligence elephants have is a huge reason they need to be kept in the wild.

“Elephants should not be in captivity— period,” he said. “With all of that brainpower— to be limited as they are in captivity— it’s a wonder they cope at all.”

Experts say that elephants “stroke or caress each other’s heads and backs with their trunks to console or comfort loved ones. Calves place the tips of their trunks in their mother’s mouth for reassurance— a gesture repeated by lower-ranking elephants in interactions with the herd’s matriarch.”

That seems to be exactly what the elephant in this video is doing!

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