Poe’s raven may have endlessly repeated the word ‘nevermore’, but did that corvid
acutely understand the finality of of death and the act of mourning?
Quoth the raven...maybe!
Hi everyone!
It’s Natalia for DNews!
Dealing with the loss of a loved one is no doubt a painful time, but are humans the only
species that mourn their dead?
Recently a female snub-nosed monkey in a Chinese Nature Reserve was observed to fall ill.
The dominant male in the group remained with her as her symptoms appeared to grow worse.
At one point the female monkey fell from the tree and landed on the rocky ground.
As she lay injured, the male was seen examining her and began to groom her while others began
to do the same.
She eventually died and the group moved on.
Researchers buried the female a kilometer away and the following day, the group of snub-nosed
monkeys returned.
The male went to the spot when the female had died only to discover she was not there.
He waited two minutes until he solemnly moved on with his troop.
Was this monkey feeling grief?
Some scientists argue that assigning commonly associated ‘human’ characteristics to
animals , like love, grief, and empathy is anthropomorphizing them, or attributing human
personalities to animals without sufficient evidence.
However, other scientists don’t see the comparison of these behaviors far-fetched,
even finding it ‘species centric’ to assume that these traits can only belong to humans.
Just because a monkey can’t write a sonnet about their loss, doesn’t necessarily mean
they aren’t capable of empathy!
Barbara J. King, a biological anthropologist wrote a book specifically about the bereavement
of our animal brethren entitled “How Animals Grieve.”
In King’s book she details multiple species that mourn the loss of members of their group,
included a dolphin mother who lost her calf, a group of elephants mourning their matriarch’s
death, and how a domestic cats wailed for weeks after the death of her sister.
Although these examples can be considered anecdotal evidence, King has said that the
database of stories from peer-reviewed sources of various animal species exhibiting empathetic
behavior is growing which will no doubt aid in the research and understanding of animal
emotion, including grief.
Some of the best documented animals mourners are our closest genetic relatives, chimpanzees.
At Cameroon’s Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center, a group of chimps were seen gathering
around an older female who had recently died.
She had been a maternal figure to many of the other chimps at the sanctuary and it appeared
that the group were paying their respects.
Similarly, a deceased chimpanzee at a sanctuary in Zambia was surrounded by a group of chimps
who gently touched, smelled, and lightly groomed his body.
Volunteers noted that the chimpanzees were not only processing his death- they were mourning
their friend.
Chimpanzees mothers who have lost infants have also been documented on several occasions
carrying their dead offspring around for days- sometimes weeks.
These mothers appear to care for them and even try to revive them.
This is possible evidence of these animals understanding or processing death.
This behavior has also been documented in gorillas, macaques, and baboons.
Another group of animals that have often been reported to mourn their dead are corvids.
Corvids, or crows, ravens, magpies, rooks and jays, and have been observed having makeshift
‘funerals’ for their deceased relatives.
Some have witnessed ravens dropping twigs, grass, and other ‘offerings’ on the dead.
However, some skeptics assert that these ‘funerals’ may be less about mourning and more about
understanding what ‘felled’ their corvid comrade.
Was it muuuuurder?
Regardless of their intention, it is again possible evidence of animals understanding
and reacting to death.
There still is more research needed to truly understand the emotional lives of animals,
and there is a chance we may never really know how deeply they feel…
Now that we know how some animals deal with death, here’s a fascinating video about
how humans both preserve AND learn from deceased animals while preparing them for museum collections.
What do you think?
Do animals mourn their dead?
Will your cat grieve over your imminent demise or is Mr. Mittens just counting the days until
he can eat you?
Subscribe to DNews and let us know in the comments down below.
Thanks for watching!