Animals and Mortality

[Stravo]

Simple question: Do you think that Animals are aware of their own mortality? Do they know on some level that they are eventually going to die? Or is that knowledge solely the province of Humanity?

[BlkbrryTheGreat]

Simple question: Do you think that Animals are aware of their own mortality? Do they know on some level that they are eventually going to die? Or is that knowledge solely the province of Humanity?

I imagine that most herd based mammalian herbivores realize their own mortality when they see their herd members killed and devoured.

[Stravo]

Simple question: Do you think that Animals are aware of their own mortality? Do they know on some level that they are eventually going to die? Or is that knowledge solely the province of Humanity?

I imagine that most herd based mammalian herbivores realize their own mortality when they see their herd members killed and devoured.

I'm thinking more along the lines of the inevitability of death. That even if they survive the predators of the world that no matter what they will eventually die.

[Darth Raptor]

"Animal" is an incredibly broad term that includes mammals with cerebral cortices and brainless sponges- so there's obviously a huge range here.

That said, healthy elephants are exempt from predation and generally die of old age. They go to a specific "graveyard" to die and living elephants periodically visit such graveyards to touch the bones of their ancestors.

So I'd say yes, the more intelligent vertebrates (and perhaps cephalopod mollusks) are aware of their impending demise on some level.

[Lagmonster]

I'm aware of some animals who will try to commit suicide when depressed; my mother used to tell me about her unflattering task of walking sharks in captivity tanks at the University of Miami. I couldn't say that demonstrates an awareness of mortality, mind, but it is interesting that an animal can override its own survival instinct based on how it feels.

[BlkbrryTheGreat]

Simple question: Do you think that Animals are aware of their own mortality? Do they know on some level that they are eventually going to die? Or is that knowledge solely the province of Humanity?

I imagine that most herd based mammalian herbivores realize their own mortality when they see their herd members killed and devoured.

I'm thinking more along the lines of the inevitability of death. That even if they survive the predators of the world that no matter what they will eventually die.

As far as we know, man is the only animal with the ability to conceptualize. Thus he is the only animal capable of even understanding and contemplating the concept of "inevitability"- whether it relates to death or another concept.
In other words, other animals are going to know what death is- but just on a perceputal level. Contemplation of the sort your speaking of is inconcievable for the vast majority of animal species- it requires language based concepts; concepts that they cannot concieve of or understand.
The only animals that would even come close to this level would be other primates, and perhaps dolphins. However, I'm not an expert on the mental capacity of either of these animals- so the extent to which they are capable of forming language based concepts is beyond my knowledge. I do know however, that the interpretation of ape sign language, as it relates to conceptualiztion, is a subject that is vigorously debating among those that study primates and their utilization of sign language.

[haard]

That said, healthy elephants are exempt from predation and generally die of old age. They go to a specific "graveyard" to die and living elephants periodically visit such graveyards to touch the bones of their ancestors.

That is a myth, probably originating in the fact that old and/or sick elephants tend to seek water.

However, elephants do get agitated if they find a dead elephant (IIRC especially when they find ivory) and touch and smell the carcass - they don't do this to other dead animals they find.

[wilfulton]

Animals are certainly aware that some things are bigger and scarier than they are. But for the most part, the animals I'm most familiar with (cats and dogs) don't really care about their mortality, just live for the moment, the only thing of importance being their own immediate physical comfort.

[Pick]

If nothing else, elephants are documented as being afraid of the skulls of their own kind when encountered unexpectedly, whereas this does not appear to occur in other animals besides humans.

[Drooling Iguana]

The elephant thing is most likely a survival instince due to the fact that whatever killed the elephant they're seeing might still be around to do the same to them.

[Darth Wong]

The elephant thing is most likely a survival instince due to the fact that whatever killed the elephant they're seeing might still be around to do the same to them.

Then they should be scanning the area for threats, not focusing on the carcass. If I found a dead body in my front yard, I would immediately do a 360 scan before retreating into the house and calling the police. I wouldn't sit there staring and poking at the body.

[wolveraptor]

I once heard a sign-language using chimp, when asked what death was like, described it as "being in a dark cave."

[wolveraptor]

I once heard that a sign-language using chimp, when asked what death was like, described it as "being in a dark cave."

Fixed.

[FSTargetDrone]

If nothing else, elephants are documented as being afraid of the skulls of their own kind when encountered unexpectedly, whereas this does not appear to occur in other animals besides humans.

Furthermore, how many other kinds of animals even recognize skeletal remains for what they are?

[FSTargetDrone]

Then they should be scanning the area for threats, not focusing on the carcass. If I found a dead body in my front yard, I would immediately do a 360 scan before retreating into the house and calling the police. I wouldn't sit there staring and poking at the body.

If the elephant that found the body is part of a nearby herd, other elephants in the herd may be listening, smelling or looking around doing just that. Aside from a human with a gun, there isn't much that's a danger to an elephant, that can harm it at range (assuming the elepahnt is healthy and so forth).

[Gil Hamilton]

Gorillas do have a concept of death and mortality, which we know because we've taught them to talk some.

The problem with other animals is that we don't have a means to ask them about it.

EDIT: Gorillas also mourn for death. Michael, the Gorilla who lived with Koko and was intended on being her mate (which didn't happen, they became like brother and sister), died before Koko. Koko and her mate actually mourned for Michael's death and conveyed their sorrow to their handlers by sign language. They understood the concept of death. Also, Michael's parents had been killed by poachers, which he learned to talk about how it effected him.

[wolveraptor]

I've heard that applied to other sophisticated primates, but I've never actually seen the source for it.

[ArmorPierce]

Yeah now that I think about it, I remember watching something with a chimp that knew sign language who's baby had died. The woman that would come take care of her and see her daily own baby had died and the chimp was pissed that she hadn't come for a long time. The woman told the chimp through sign language that her own baby had died and the chimp became empathetic with her.

[ArmorPierce]

it would be interesting if some people had sources for these.