4 Animals Who Mourn Their Dead

[Bayard]

https://www.care2.com/causes/4-animals-who-mourn-their-dead.html

"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,"

I find this really fascinating, especially the video on elephants. Also notice in that clip how the bigger animals are helping the baby up the river bank.

[samnsara]

1. i lived across from a ranch...during calving season there were...

...always some born dead.. and the mama cow would bellow mournfully over the calf. SO SAD!!

[GusBob]

2. 5. Canadian Geese

I would bet, they mate for life. My hunting buddies would tell sad tales, they shot one goose out of the flock, and its mate would circle back and come looking for its downed partner honking forlornly.

I have also seen a dead goose hit by a car on the side of the road and its mate would be standing nearby holding vigil. I guess they never find another mate

[trof]

12. Canada Geese

Someone corrected me a while back and I never forgot it.

[BoneyardDem]

3. One Summer I kenneled my dogs

The facility had a lot of peacocks wandering around. One reached under the gate to get at some of the dog food. Well......things didn't go very well for the peacock. The owner of the facility said that the other peacocks surrounded the headless body and "cawed" (have you ever heard a peacock's call?) very soulfully. She said it sounded like they were mourning their dead.

[JimBeard]

4. Cattle surround a dead corpse and will lay around them for days....

even until the soil has been eroded around the body.

[Wellstone ruled]

5. Crows and Morning Doves

will mourn over a Flock member.

[Angry Dragon]

6. It seems that animals show more compassion than republicans..........just my observation

[SammyWinstonJack]

13. Good observation.

[procon]

7. I rescued a sheep that stayed with her poor dead lamb after the flock moved on.

Huge flocks of sheep move through our valley in the spring, with hundreds of ewes that give birth within a few weeks time frame. The sheppards and their herd dogs can't keep up with the mass of grazing sheep and there are always dead and stray sheep that are left abandoned and usually fall prey to coyotes.

I was driving home when I spotted this sheep just standing by herself next to a fallen tree. I stopped and she never moved as I approached, it was like she was in a trance, just looking down at her little lamb. Sheep aren't very bright, and I don't know that they are capable of mourning, but there she was all by herself and standing guard over her dead baby rather than move on with the rest of her herd.

I took her home. She was a good mama and raised many lambs over the years.

[Bayard]

8. Even across species....

"Heartbreaking photos show grieving stray dogs turn up at funeral of woman who fed them"

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/heartbreaking-photos-show-grieving-stray-5417451

[Runningdawg]

9. We lost our dog

earlier this summer. Since then, the cat has been sleeping on her cremation container.

[lpbk2713]

10. Evolution wasn't totally kind to elephants.

If they had fingers and thumbs they would probably be ruling the world by now.

[MountCleaners]

11. I just watched a wolf video on YouTube

A member of the pack had died, and for six months, the pups in the pack didn't play with each other. The scientists observing them said they showed signs of grieving. They howled mournfully after she died. It made me want to hug a dog and say "thank you" for being such good friends to us.