Do dolphins mourn their dead?
New evidence suggests that dolphins, like elephants and the great apes, may comprehend their own mortality.
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Of course Dolphins mourn their dead. And I mourn the dead
of all those species that we humans are so witlessly driving
to extinction.
I frankly could never understand the arrogance of man when it came to other species of animals having emotions and even physical feelings. I mean, throw a lobster in a pot of boiling water and it screeches. You say" ah he must have gas" or some silly make yourself feel better excuse. I say "he/she just suffered pain and cried out in pain".I am not saying that everything feels grief, sorrow, joy, and love. I am saying that I believe that many species do. And I also believe that almost everything.... More
I have swam with wild dolphins many times in the Gulf of Mexico. They seem to always want to interact and are very social. I do not feel threatened at all when I am with them.
My experience is that animals are great teachers and have intelligence and emotions far beyond our ability to understand. My beloved horse once slipped after we had jumped over a jump. I was thrown off and knocked out. I awoke with my horse standing over me breathing warm air into my nostrils.
It doesn't take a very complicated brain to recognize abnormal behavior and/or loss. I've had healthy goldfish stop swimming and eating when a sick tankmate was lying on the bottom, instead nudging it to move, especially at feeding time. If anyone's kept fish, you know food is their number one concern. I've had healthy fish die suddenly (from shock, I assume) after most of their tankmates have died and been removed. We humans have a special ability, for better or for worse - we are.... More
Two words: greyfriar's bobby! of course, animals feel grief, they are conscious, sentient beings. people don't give animals nearly enough credit for their intellect and cognitive abilities. anyone who's lived with a pet and really paid attention knows they're not just instinct-driven automatons.
Humans mistakenly believe they are the supreme life form on this planet because of our large brain. In fact some animals have skills for staying alive that we can only envy. We are not special in natures eye. We assume we know how other animals feel emotion which is just another example of our own ignorance.
It is obvious that many animals have emotions, they feel love, hope and jealousy, especially dogs, for example there wa an accident along a busy road one morning, when a car hit one of the two puppy dogs while crossing the road, when the other dog observed that the second dog was on the road, the first dog that had crossed the road ran back and stood by the first dog and started barking right on the main road until the owner came to move both the dead and the other dog away - what an emotion.... More
Dogs mourn their owners when they die, and dolphins are supposed to be smarter than dogs. One thing held in common by all of the animal species that supposedly mourn their dead is that they are both relatively intelligent and social. That combination may be the key.
Kathy. Put your wishes in writing regarding what is to be done with your pets at your death. You'll feel better knowing there is a plan for their welfare after you're gone.
The phenomenon may be even more widespread. I live on a ridge overlooking a large pasture and have for years observed how cattle react to the death of both calves and adults. The rancher even insists on leaving a dead calf lay for 3 days to allow the mother to get over her grief. Also, the entire heard reacts to cows separated or deceased by "paying their respects" Cattle may not be very smart but they definitely have feelings and if you observe them long enough you can tell when they are.... More
Wait you mean we aren't super special? Of course animals feel emotions. If you have ever had two pets that grew up together and one dies, the other one might as well be dead. Animals are more caring and trustworthy than humans are.
I would like to share a sad story (from a News article) that occurred a few days back in a remote place in the Southern part of India. A Cow was grazing in the wild, about 1.5 Miles away from its shed. There were land mines set in the wild to hunt wild pigs. On the dreadful day, one of the land mines blew up and damaged most part of the Cows jaw and part of head. It ran frantically for 1.5 miles back to its shed and gave milk to its calf and died after a few hours. I was very disheartened.... More
Since we are related to other primates, no, it's not difficult to believe they have emotions similar to ours. Idiots.
I've seen squirrels mourning their mate that was ran over by cars. what is new about this? Don't we need money in other things, do we have to spend them again on useless "studies"?
I would like to add my own experience to this conversation as my daughter and I were privileged to witness an amazing sight that I can only call a funeral for a cow. Though we were from a big city, for about 5 years my husband and I lived in a log cabin in the mountains of North Carolina. Right behind our cabin was a creek, and on the other side was a totally furnished, but unoccupied house and lots of cows. One weekend my daughter was home from college and we both saw that one of the cows was.... More
wow, thats heartwreching and amazing at the same time. animals have more emotions than we are capable of understanding.
Must be a slow news day today
Only a couple of hundred years ago, people thought that their human slaves had no emotions. It's both the epitome of human arrogance and an easy way to justify the way we treat animals (trapping dolphins for life in zoos, for example) to say they don't have emotions. Anyone who's lived with pets knows they do. Why wouldn't they?
What terrible reporting. The author did not even consider alternative points. In the story about the mother dolphin helping its calf to the surface repeatably, how in the world do you jump to the conclusion that its greiving? The mother could not definitively tell that it was dead, so it makes complete sense for it to stick around for while in case the calf started about again. These are normal protective instincts that we see all the time. In both of the scenarios in this story, a calf is.... More
they said specifically that this is just one man's theory. tell me where exactly they said this is concrete evidence? oh, that was just you jumping to baseless conclusions? maybe you should take a reading comprehension class or two, genius.
seems you (who is no where near an expert) is more or less not willing to accept that another being could be like us. Ive seen human mothers with dead babies keep them for days going through routine, guess they didn't know it was dead? or were they grieving in their own way?
it is becoming more aparent that animals on this planet are going to be the next to evolve when we are gone, maybe they can do a better job then us.
You must be an optimist. It's more likely we will completely destroy the planet and every living creature. But don't mistake evolution with progress. Evolution is merely change and adaptation, not progress.
You have a point that it's very difficult to ascribe emotions to behaviors... but if emotions are the simplest explanation that explains the majority of the observations, then it's a reasonable one to pursue. Note that the author of the article isn't making these conclusions - the researchers (with presumably much more information than you or I) are the ones hypothesizing this.
Regarding the mother not "knowing" the calf was dead, why do you assume she couldn't? Keep in mind these are.... More
When I was approximately 12, my sister and I had two ducks that were kept at our grandmother's farm. They spent their lives in the area of a water pool on a run. One of the ducks died. Some member of the family buried it near the water pool of the run within the area used by the ducks. The living duck would sit on the grave of the deceased duck on a daily basis until it died.
my dog always comes to console me when i cry - she knows my moods
I don't know why we're SO hesitant to accept that many animals have emotions. I mean. . . isn't it obvious? Any person with common sense can see that many animals feel love, jealousy, and hope.
We're hesitant because the more like us they seem, the thornier an issue their treatment becomes. In today's world, who has time for empathy?
When my father died, his cat continued to look for him. He would check Dad's chair, then the bed, then the bathroom, then Dad's chair in the kitchen. When we were finally able to bring his wheelchair inside, Julius heard it and ran downstairs. He spotted the chair and rubbed against it, then instantly ran to the kitchen. Then to the chair, the bed, and the bedroom, and back to the chair. He didn't seem to understand that Dad wasn't there. For most of three months he continued looking. .... More
Your story made me cry! I often wonder what would happen to my babies (fur babies) if anything happens to me. How will they be able to understand that mommy is never coming home? Worse, they would probably be taken from our home since its just me and them here. Heartbreaking, just heartbreaking. :o(
There are much more heartbreaking things going on than you worrying about your own demise and what effect that will have on your pets. I bet your house smells awful from cat piss and dog crap. I win.
This story breaks my heart, yet, makes my heart happy. Thank-you for sharing.
I have no doubt that animals feel human emotion. I also absolutely believe that animals can sense when humans are feeling certain emotions, i.e. grief. The night my grandmother passed away, all I could do was wait at my parents house, in my old bedroom, until my mother came home from the hospital. My 15 year old cat who I grew up with, sat on my bed and didn't leave my side that night.
Animals always.... More
I witness similar behavior among insects when I place glue traps around the shanty.
One bug/spider/etc becomes adhered to the device and before long a multitude of its brethren coming to mourn/grieve also become ensnared.
A sorta' mini La Brea tar pits scenario with, luckily and thankfully the stuck critters much smaller than saber tooth tigers etc found mired in the tar pits.
Article, y u make me watch sad videos?!
