The question of whether animals mourn their dead has long captivated human observers. Anecdotal accounts suggest animals, much like humans, exhibit profound behavioral changes following a companion’s death. This widespread curiosity often stems from our own emotional connections, leading to a natural tendency to interpret their actions through a human lens. While the concept of animal grief is emotionally compelling, understanding these behaviors requires careful scientific observation and analysis.
Understanding Mourning in the Animal Kingdom
Many animal species display behaviors that appear consistent with human grief. Elephants, for instance, are observed lingering near deceased herd members, gently touching them with their trunks, or even attempting to lift them. Some elephants cover dead calves with branches and dirt, or return to relatives’ resting places years later, often examining bones. These behaviors extend to both relatives and non-relatives, suggesting a broader interest in their species’ dead.
Primates also exhibit a range of behaviors often interpreted as mourning following a death. Mothers in species like monkeys and chimpanzees carry dead infants for days, weeks, or months, sometimes until the body is mummified or only a skeleton remains. Researchers note primates guarding deceased companions, showing altered daily routines, and grooming corpses.
In the marine world, cetaceans like dolphins and whales display attentive behaviors toward their deceased. Dolphin mothers have been observed supporting their dead calves at the water’s surface for hours or days, seemingly unwilling to let them sink. Captive dolphins have also been seen lying motionless at the bottom of their pools after a group member’s death, resembling depression. Post-mortem attentive behaviors have been identified in at least 20 cetacean species, with dolphins accounting for a significant majority of these observations.
Birds, especially social species, also respond to death. Corvids, such as crows and jays, gather around deceased members in what some describe as “funerals,” emitting distress calls and ceasing foraging. Pigeons, ospreys, and robins linger near sites where their young or eggs were lost, indicating a prolonged sense of absence.
The Scientific Lens
Interpreting these behaviors as definitive proof of mourning presents scientific challenges. It is difficult to directly ascertain animals’ internal emotional states, as they cannot verbally express feelings like grief. Consequently, researchers must rely on observable behavioral changes and physiological responses to draw conclusions. These observed behaviors, while compelling, can sometimes have alternative explanations.
For example, a mother carrying a deceased infant might be continuing an instinctual parental care behavior, rather than consciously grieving. Crows gathering around a dead conspecific could be a “danger response” to learn about potential threats in the environment, rather than a mourning ritual. In social insects, burying the dead is often triggered by chemical cues during decomposition, serving as a hygienic response to prevent disease.
The distinction between anthropomorphism and scientific observation is crucial. Anthropomorphism, the attribution of human characteristics or emotions to animals, can lead to misinterpretations. While “critical anthropomorphism” can be a useful heuristic for generating research hypotheses, the scientific community generally emphasizes objective behavior description. A newer interdisciplinary field, comparative thanatology, studies how animals and humans respond to death, aiming to move beyond anecdotal evidence through systematic research.
Why Animals Might Mourn
If animals do experience something akin to mourning, strong social bonds and advanced cognitive abilities appear to be underlying factors. Many species observed exhibiting post-death behaviors are highly social, forming complex relationships and attachments within their groups. Disruption of these bonds, particularly in species relying on group cohesion for survival, could naturally lead to distress.
The capacity for empathy, defined as the ability to experience and share the mental state of others, is increasingly recognized in various animal species, including primates, elephants, and some rodents. This ability could contribute to an individual’s emotional response to the distress of a dying or deceased group member. Species with larger brains and complex social structures, such as cetaceans, often exhibit attentive behaviors toward their dead, suggesting a link to cognitive sophistication and understanding of loss.
Neurochemical processes also play a role in social bonding and attachment across the animal kingdom. Hormones like oxytocin and vasopressin are involved in regulating social behaviors and forming pair bonds in many mammals. The loss of a companion can lead to physiological and psychological stress responses, including changes in these neurochemical levels. These biological underpinnings suggest that animal distress after death may stem from disrupted social and emotional systems.