DOLPHIN IN DESPAIR

This aquatic mammal is known for its playful spirit and range of emotions, but dolphins have bad days too. Researchers say that the animal has a hard time accepting death, and will often stay with a deceased infant or pod member for days. This ritual recently was captured on film when tourists took photos of a devastated mother holding her dead baby above water and carrying it deeper into the sea.

PRIMATE POUTING

Chimpanzees' close genetic makeup to humans means they get some of our faults as well. The primates are known to become distressed when they lose close members of their groups. The animals will often cry, refuse food, mope and
separate themselves during grieving periods. One poignant example of chimpanzee mourning was the case of Dorothy. When the older chimpanzee died and was taken away from her rescue center, all the other chimps gathered seemingly to say their goodbyes and to watch the body leave.

LOSING YOUR BEST FRIEND

The bonds a human can form with a dog are deep, and research indicates that canines feel them too. Studies show that dogs can feel grief, especially after the loss of an owner. The pets will react to their emotions by not eating, sleeping more than
usual and generally being lethargic. Some dogs will also show a lack of acceptance that an owner has died, and will try to stay with him or her. This was seen with a dog that belonged to a slain Navy SEAL. The dog, Hawkeye, refused to leave the side of his owner's coffin during the funeral.

GORILLA GRIEF

The complex social structures of gorillas and their higher level of thinking makes it easier for them to form strong connections to their children and pack members. As a result, gorillas have been recorded exhibiting sadness and concern for their dead,
sometimes even burying the bodies. One heartbreaking example is Gana, who could not accept the death of her child. Gana carried the infant's body with her around a German zoo for days, trying to restore life to it multiple times, and protecting it from zookeepers.

ELEPHANT EMPATHY

Elephants are extremely emotional animals, easily bonding with other elephants or the humans who care for them. These deep attachments can lead to terrible grief when a loved one dies. Elephants are known to shed tears, bury their dead, go into
depression and starve themselves in reaction to a loss. One elephant at an Indian zoo was so distraught over the death of her friend that she refused to eat or drink, leading to her own death.

GEESE MATE FOR LIFE

Geese are very serious about commitment, devoting themselves to one bird for a lifetime. After a goose dies, its mate will undergo a rigorous mourning process, including weight loss, separation from the flock and submission to other
geese. Eventually, the goose will find a new mate in another bird that has lost its partner. One goose made an unusual choice for her new mate, choosing to leave her flock and bond with humans that worked at a Dollar Store.

It's true, they do mourn. They have feelings too. [color=#770077][/color]

SPERM WHALES' TOOTHACHE

Sperm whales form close relationships with the members of their pods, even following those who stray from the group so they won't be alone. If a member is removed from the group through death, the remaining whales become mentally agitated for
long periods. Research shows that this turmoil is so far-reaching that the teeth of the animal will become weaker during these periods.

BABOON BUDDIES

Scientists have found that baboons' physiological response to death is very similar to humans, with both seeing an increase in stress hormones called glucocorticoids. To lower glucocorticoid levels and cope with loss, baboons also respond like we do:
they seek out friends. The animals will expand their social circles and spend more time with other baboons, engaging in activities like grooming.

They are our cousins and they got emotions and consciousness like us. In fact they are more united than us humans.

FROWNING FELINES

Stereotypes say that cats are loners, but observation has shown that many felines grieve when they lose an owner or cat friend. This process can include running away, not eating, excessive meowing and house-training mistakes.
One example of an inconsolable cat is Muschi, who lost her unlikely bear friend, Mausi. Zookeepers said the cat refused to leave the bear's old exhibit, and would not stop meowing for her companion.

SEA-LION SOBS

Sea lions have been seen to cry out in anguish when their babies are taken by predators. A sea lion will continue wailing in mourning after its child has died. The same behavior has also been seen in sea lions dealing with companions taken by
hunters.

Western scrub jays hold what we would call funerals when they encounter a dead member of their species. Teresa Iglesias and colleagues from the University of California at Davis noted that jays, on seeing a dead bird, gather around it; in the journal Animal Behavior, they write that this behavior may have evolved from needing to warn other birds of dangers.

The scientists conducted experiments in which they placed a number of objects into residential yards and observed how the jays reacted. The objects included different colored pieces of wood, dead jays, mounted stuffed jays and great horned owls.

The jays were indifferent to the wood. They gathered together and issued alarm calls on seeing the mounted horned owls, apparently because they thought they were predators. They sometimes mobbed the stuffed jay, a behavior displayed when seeing a competitor or a sick bird.

But their behavior towards the dead birds was the most significant. Not only did the jays issue alarm calls to warn others far away, but they stopped foraging for food for days. As the BBC explains, after finding the dead bird,

The jays then gathered around the dead body, forming large cacophonous aggregations. The calls they made, known as “zeeps”, “scolds” and “zeep-scolds”, encouraged new jays to attend to the dead.

The scientists wrote that just the sight of a dead bird was enough to make the jays seek to share this information to warn other birds of possible dangers, even “without witnessing the struggle and manner of death.”

Jays are not the only animals who scientists have observed taking notice of their dead.

Yorubaaa omoge!!

When a member of their herd dies, elephants often guard the bodies. They become agitated and appear to investigate the dead animal, even touching the bones– the skull and tusks — with their trunks and feet in a ceremonial way (as caught on this video).

A few years ago, scientists from the UK and Kenya observed elephants engaged in such behaviors. They were unable to confirm that the elephants visit the bones of their dead relatives in particular. But, as scientists wrote in the journal Biology Letters, “their interest in the ivory and skulls of their own species means that they would be highly likely to visit the bones of relatives who die within their home range.”

As David Field, head of animal care for London and Whipsnade Zoos in the UK, says in New Scientist:

Elephants are highly intelligent and highly tactile animals. The fact they are able to distinguish between their own skulls and those of other species is not surprising.

Elephants themselves are a matriarchal society filled with aunties and family members who have close bonds within a group.

Therefore, a death in the family “could have an impact on social bonding and structure within the group,” just as it does in human families.

Scientists emphasized that the “notion of elephant graveyards – where old elephants wander off to die – has been exposed as myth by previous studies” and that they are not exactly be “mourning” their dead. But elephants do get excited when they near carcasses as “secretions [stream] from their temples.”

kandiikane: Yorubaaa omoge!!

Yes, my loff?

In 2010 in the Soysambu Conservancy in Kenya, a female giraffe was seen spending four days beside the body of her one-month-old calf. Seventeen other female giraffes also surrounded the body over the four days.

In 2011, a female giraffe in Zambia was seen spending two hours beside a calf who was apparently a stillborn. She splayed her legs to bend down — something giraffes rarely do, except to eat or drink — and licked the calf for several hours. This behavior was repeated for the entire two hours and was all the more notable as giraffes rarely spend time alone.

Also in 2011, a herd of giraffes in Namibia was seen investigating the corpse of a young female giraffe who had died three weeks before. Some of the male giraffes splayed their legs and sniffed the ground.

Scientists are wary of saying that some mammals have a concept of death, while noting that more species than had been thought react when one of their own dies.

Jim and Jamie Dutcher describe the grief and mourning in a wolf pack after the loss of the low-ranking omega female wolf, Motaki, to a mountain lion. The pack lost their spirit and their playfulness. They no longer howled as a group, but rather they "sang alone in a slow mournful cry." They were depressed — tails and heads held low and walking softly and slowly — when they came upon the place where Motaki was killed. They inspected the area and pinned their ears back and dropped their tails, a gesture that usually means submission. It took about six weeks for the pack to return to normal. The Dutchers also tell of a wolf pack in Canada in which one pack member died and the others wandered about in a figure eight as if searching for her. They also howled long and mournfully. Foxes also have been observed performing funeral rituals.

Bird mourning

Animal grief is an issue on the minds of zookeepers at New York’s Central Park Zoo. As the New York Times reports, workers recently euthanized Ida, a popular 25-year-old polar bear who was suffering from liver disease. Now Ida’s companion of 24 years, polar bear Gus, is alone.

In 1994, Gus swam seemingly endless laps in his enclosure — the result, zoo officials believed, of stress and depression. The swimming ceased only after a therapist worked with the animal. Gus is now being closely observed to see how he reacts to Ida's absence. According to The New York Times, “With sticks, toys and other playthings untouched, he [Gus] spent Monday morning swimming between two rock structures, eyes peering out of the shallow waters as he drifted.” So far, officials from the zoo remain optimistic. Dr. Robert Cook, who helps operate the zoo, told the New York Times, “We haven’t decided what we’re going to do next as far as Gus goes. But he seems to be fine.’’

Gorilla

Yoruba_Omoge:

Yes, my loff?

Lol, sorry just off my head.

Hmmm God is wonderful. Isé enìyan ni isè erankó

Absolutely correct.

Life is deep, deeper than we may ever know. I felt sympathy for the 'ape mum'. It was too close to reality.

wow...

i wish all these foolish leaders die too.... SO WE COULD MOURN

A very rich Thread!

ALLAHU AKBAR!!!

Wa tabaraka Lahu Ahzanu-u-l Khalikin

God Is Extremely Wonderful [b][/b]

interesting

Yes sure thing