How do animals grieve over the death of loved ones?

Humans are part of a complex organism. Because of this complexity, humans differ greatly in their behavior from other animals. But in some respects, animals are more complex than humans. For example, there are communication methods between bees to inform other bees about the location of flowers. Dolphins have the ability to locate objects through reflective sounds. These facts show that there are communication systems between animals that are as advanced as humans. Here we see how animals grieve over the death of loved ones.

First, let’s look at the elephant. How can animals grieve the loss of their relatives?

Elephants are extremely social, sensitive, and emotional creatures that live in close contact with other elephants in the herd. Because of this deep bond, when someone in the herd dies, the other members of the herd become very emotional and grieve.

Cynthia Moss, director of the Amboseli Elephant Research Center in Kenya, once had a wonderful observation. A few weeks after the death of an elephant, Cynthia brought the jawbone of a dead elephant to a research camp to determine her age. A few days later, the elephant’s family began to roam around the camp. Dozens of dead elephants’ jaws were found in the camp, but they were able to find the bones of a member of their family. They spent some time with those bones, and they were eager to touch them. Then all but one member left. The camp members identified the remaining member as the seven-year-old son of a dead elephant.

Once upon a time, an explorer in the Samburu Reserve in Kenya experienced a more sensitive scene than Cynthia Moss saw. The moment the sick elephant “Eleanor” fell weakly, another elephant named “Grace” immediately approached Eleanor in an emotional manner.

Although Grace was able to resurrect Eleanor, Eleanor fell again. Grease was then under some stress, and she continued to try to raise Eleanor but failed. Grace stayed by Eleanor until nightfall, and Eleanor breathed her last that night.

The next day, an elephant named “Maui” shook Eleanor’s body with his foot. On the third day, Eleanor’s family visited her body. Then another family and a close relative of Eleanor, nicknamed “Maya,” came to the body. After all this, the elephant named Grace, who had been waiting for Eleanor’s last breath, came back near the corpse. Maya spent an hour and a half near the body on the fifth day, and a week after her death, Eleanor’s family returned to visit her. See how animals grieve over the death of loved ones.

See dolphin animals grieve the loss of their relatives

On May 6, 2000, two adult males guard the body of a dead female dolphin off the coast of Mikura, Japan. They have moved away from the corpse only to come to the surface to breathe, and divers have attempted to carry the corpse as the cause of death is unknown. The two adult males acted to prevent the carcass from being carried. For several days they swam around the corpse of dolphins and protected it.

Dolphin behavior has been reported in various parts of the world in the wake of the death of a member. It is said that at least 20 dolphins once visited the body of a dolphin trapped between two rocks. When divers try to reach the body, some dolphins that come to see the corpse show aggressive behavior by interrupting them. The herd of dolphins showed a tense nature, slowly pushing the corpse, and Even as the body was being carried on the boat, they swam around and expressed their condolences.

Chimpanzee

When a chimpanzee mother loses her baby, she spends many days with the dead, taking the dead baby with her and cleaning the baby as before. The mother chimpanzee does this until the corpse decomposes beyond recognition. If the mothers of chimpanzees living in zoos face such an unfortunate fate, some zoo workers who know their behavior will allow the mother chimpanzee to spend time with the corpse. A chimpanzee mother once reported brushing her baby’s teeth. At first glance, this might have seemed like a rite of passage. Chimpanzees, like humans, have long-standing social ties and are said to have some respect for dead members.

The goose

Gooses are often part of an animal that lives with one mate. As a result, when one of the spouses dies, the surviving member is severely affected. They lay beside the corpse, gently stroking its wings to express their grief. This grief can go even further. Then their appetite may decrease and they may even lose weight. During this time the bearing member tries to isolate himself from his flock. They then turn to a new partner, who may also be a single member who died one day in the past. More..