Do animals commit suicide?

[guinea fowl galore]

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Whales don't do that on purpose.

Apparently what happens is there are earthquakes way way down under the ocean. The shock and vibrations cause them to rise to the surface too fast and they get the bends.

 

[deerman]

Again the honey bee when it sting you its going to die....not suicide. its nature way of leaving the sack of poison their to keep pumping bal. in. plus gives out a scent for other bee to find the attacker.

the salmon kill themself on rocks, not suicide they just trying to get to their breeding pond.

If you look at any killing themself...nature or man will be the cause. not because they want to die.


NICE THREAD

 

[sheaviance1]

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Could this possibly be due to them sensing the moods of their handlers in the same situations? Aren't humans distressed and anxious when they find a dead body and ecstatic when they find a live person? Sounds more like conditioned response to me....maybe the dogs sense a greater reward when they find a live person by the tone of the handler's voice, body language, etc. and less of a congratulatory air when a dead body is found. I'm sure they are immediately pulled to one side and their handler isn't taking the time to give effusive praise in that instance~too many other factors in that situation, I would imagine.

No ma'am, the dog smells death prior to the handler ever finding the body. This has been documented by multiple handlers with the dogs first find of a dead human. There can be no conditioned response when it is their first time. They start crying, drop their tail, and hesitantly complete their track upon the first scent of death.

 

[Avalon1984]

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I had a 15 year old cat (Patch) that I loved to death. He was attacked by a raccoon while we were on vacation and ended up losing and eye, along with having severe brain damage. I took him into my room and cared for him every day for over a year. I don't think he knew where he was, but would always come running and purr when I walked in the door. About a year later, we were going on a cruise so we boarded him with the vet. He was fine when we left, but the next morning the vet called to say he passed in his sleep. The night before they said he ate all of his food, and then laid down in his bed for the night. The next morning when they came in he was still curled up on his bed. I think he waited for me to be gone before he died ( I always knew I was not going to be able to handle finding him).

I also had a dog die before too. Jake (dog) and Patch were best friends and when the dog died, Patch would not leave Jake's body all day. We would find him curled up next to Jake just looking around. We had to put Patch away when we took Jake to the vet to be cremated because Patch was trying to follow us into the car.

edited: I deleted the wrong name

How sad. You are right, it is almost like he couln't let go as long as you were around. awwww.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

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This happened at the Elephant Sanctuary here in Tennessee. The elephant was VERY aware that her dear friend was dead. The handlers at the Sanctuary say that not only did it appear that she knew she had lost her friend, but during the night had gone through a grieving process and come to terms with the loss. She was very uninterested in the burial process (usually the elephants participate when they lose one of their own). Cameras have caught her spending time at the gravesite though since the burial. In addition, her elephant pals seem to realize that she is grieving. They are all expressing signs of care (sharing treats with her, spending more time with her, etc). All of these are out of the ordinary behaviours that are clearly a response to the loss.

My favorite story of grief from the elephant sanctuary concerned one of the elephants who had had a hard life previously. This elephant had a "woobie", an old tire that she carried with her constantly. She was never without it and she didn't want the others to mess with it. It was her security blanket and she was very attached to it. After coming to the sanctuary she began to make friends with the other elephants. One of her buddies died unexpectedly. As is typical, the caregivers and elephants had a burial service for the lost one. Caregivers later noticed something strange on top of the gravesite. The elephant had placed her tire directly on top of the grave. She left it there for several days before retrieving it again.

Elephants are aware of death. I think dogs are as well. I think there are probably other species who grasp the concept of death too. I don't know if they "commit suicide" as we think of it, but I think perhaps there are occasions when they choose to die.

 

[Avalon1984]

Quote:
This happened at the Elephant Sanctuary here in Tennessee. The elephant was VERY aware that her dear friend was dead. The handlers at the Sanctuary say that not only did it appear that she knew she had lost her friend, but during the night had gone through a grieving process and come to terms with the loss. She was very uninterested in the burial process (usually the elephants participate when they lose one of their own). Cameras have caught her spending time at the gravesite though since the burial. In addition, her elephant pals seem to realize that she is grieving. They are all expressing signs of care (sharing treats with her, spending more time with her, etc). All of these are out of the ordinary behaviours that are clearly a response to the loss.

My favorite story of grief from the elephant sanctuary concerned one of the elephants who had had a hard life previously. This elephant had a "woobie", an old tire that she carried with her constantly. She was never without it and she didn't want the others to mess with it. It was her security blanket and she was very attached to it. After coming to the sanctuary she began to make friends with the other elephants. One of her buddies died unexpectedly. As is typical, the caregivers and elephants had a burial service for the lost one. Caregivers later noticed something strange on top of the gravesite. The elephant had placed her tire directly on top of the grave. She left it there for several days before retrieving it again.

Elephants are aware of death. I think dogs are as well. I think there are probably other species who grasp the concept of death too. I don't know if they "commit suicide" as we think of it, but I think perhaps there are occasions when they choose to die.

Oh my God, stop it you people. I am crying at work here

 

[chickened]

Did you know a dog will push away or prevent a pup born with a cleft palet from nursing? They seem to expect the weak and strong to make it individually with out any special favors. Animals have no tear ducts capable of shedding tears only for moisturizing the eyes.. Only on TVdo they cry.
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I have to politely disagree. I have worked with bloodhounds trained for search and rescue. There are too many instances documented that shows a bloodhound tracking someone, and as soon as they smell the scent of death, their tail drops (held very high and wagging while searching), most will cry, and when they make their find, they are not happy about it. When they find a living person, they are ecstatic, and it is very evident in their behavior, but when they find a dead human, they usually are very visibly and audibly distressed.

Also, very recently, there was a piece on the news about the elephant and the dog that were best friends at the elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. The dog was killed by a coyote attack. The elephant found it's body, picked it up in its trunk, and brought it home. She had to be aware that her friend was dead and could not move on its own, else, she would have just left it be where it was. Poor elephant has been depressed since.

 

[Beekissed]

There is no question that some species of animals seem to mourn the loss of another. This does not automatically mean they understand death, just loss. It also doesn't confirm that animals have the capacity to understand to commit suicide in order to not feel bad emotions. In most species, ourselves included, the instinct to cling to life is so strong that some animals will chew off their legs to escape a trap, jump off a cliff in the face of certain death from a predator, etc.

 

[D3invertebrates]

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Whales don't do that on purpose.

Apparently what happens is there are earthquakes way way down under the ocean. The shock and vibrations cause them to rise to the surface too fast and they get the bends.

While there are many theories of why whales beach themselves at this time nobody knows for sure.

And as for the answer to whether or not animals commit suicide the answer is YES. Its really not up for debate its proven fact.

 

[chickened]

Strange thing about suicide research... the patients are not around for the conclusion of the studies.