Do animals commit suicide?

[rancher hicks]

I've heard of animals going off to die. Which is what I suspect when and old animal runs away and disappears. My DD cat just got hit by a car crossing the road far down from the house. She was old and never really left the yard. I figure Puff was going off to die. I still hurts.

There was an story about a cat in a nursing home who would visit the sick and stay with them until it was over. Pretty scarely really. I don't think animals "think" about it. That would infer roosters attack out of malice. I think they just do it out of instinct to protect the flock.

Heck man is still trying to understand the human mind, not sure they'll ever really understand animals.

 

[Beekissed]

Suicide is defined as intentionally killing oneself. I venture to guess that no one can measure intent on the animal psyche....they may indeed kill theirselves but I would like to meet the person who can explain just why a particular species does this.

 

[dinahmoe]

i haven't read all the posts-can't see thru the tears.

anyway,i would like to think that animals live in the moment.that they are not thinking ahead,such as, will i get fed tonite or what will i do tomorrow.they have
instincts where we do not.the whales were doing what they were program to do wether that being to follow their matriarch to her death or their sonar was screwed up.

i can't think about this to much.i would love for animals to" feel" the way we do but that would be horrible for them because of the predator /prey thing and worst of all is how we treat them.

a great book to get on the emotional lives of animals-which i have yet to complete

is
When Elephants Weep: the emotional lives of animals By Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, Susan McCarthy
it is a tough book to get thru-for me anyway.

 

[Avalon1984]

I think there are many things on this earth that we don’t understand. Animals running off before a tsunami or earthquake, animals sensing death. It is hard to tell what is fact. The weirdest thing that happens on my farm is that the animals seem to know within 30min of my husband coming home (he works out of state and is never home at the same time or day either). The barn cats start to gather in the driveway ready to greet him and the horses will stand on the side of the pasture closest to the road waiting for him to. It is spooky. Who is to say they don’t know more than we do. Maybe they are reactive in nature but they may very well be aware of what is going on and what will happen.

 

[DTRM30]

I feel that many species of animals have an awareness of their lives and their surroundings that we humans just refuse to accept.

It has been proven that species such as elepahnts, primates, dolphins, orcas and parrots communicate with each other, learn from and teach each other, mourn losses and help each other in times of need. If they are capable of these actions and emotions, why then are they incapable of intentional acts that cause their death ? Like someone else had posted, if the will to survive is so strong that an animal will chew off it's own leg to escape - why is it not believed that they are capable of intentional suffocation (dolphins have done it) - or intentional starvation to end their suffering. Why is it that we believe that humans are the only species capable of these emotions and thoughts ? This is the arrogance of the human race.
Until we can learn to truly read the thoughts of these animals and understand what they are thinking, we cannot conclude with absolute certainty that they do not "feel" as we do.
There are too many instances that strongly suggest otherwise.

 

[desertdarlene]

In the case of the elephant and the dog, the owner said that they thought she was bringing the dog home. I believe she did it because she wanted to bring the dog to safety or get help for the dog. When animals visit the bones of their loved ones, I think it's because that's where their loved ones are. I don't think they consider them dead like we do, they're just not moving or existing differently. I think that animals get upset when their loved ones stop interacting with them or go missing, but I don't know if they are aware of the finality of death or that their actions may cause their own deaths. I've heard of ducks waiting at a gate for a flock member to come back after a predator carried one of them away, for example.

I'm not saying that animals don't feel emotional pain, I just don't think they view death the way we do.

 

[Beekissed]

Now...I've personally witnessed several deer trying to commit suicide along the roads. I can see them way down the straight stretch, standing and watching my vehicle approach. I slow down and wait to see what they will do. Sure enough, they wait until the exact second that I am close enough to not be able to avoid them before they dart out in front of my truck. Some of them don't time it correctly and actually run into the side of the truck and walk away unscathed.

Same with squirrels.

Obvious suicides when they see me coming for a mile but wait for my instrument of their death before they hurriedly jump in front of my bumper.

I believe mass doses of Prozac in our waterways could maybe help with this wildlife depression problem.

 

[dinahmoe]

Quote:

thats just not right,,,,,but not untrue.
i heard that slowing down is what makes them run.a different sound will startle them,so just keep going 85 (nah u wouldn't) 55 mph and you should be good.

never try to miss a squirrel,just close your eyes and keep straight.thats all you can do.

and i have always said prozac in the water....for everything.

 

[Longhorns&Chickens]

Quote:

its so true, some are soo desperate they really do run into them as they pass! They're nuts! Maybe they just like the rush, as if hunting season wasn't enough of a challenge for them!

 

[redhen]

I do think that some animals ARE aware if their loved ones are dying or dead...

My uncle used to come up from Florida to visit us every summer for a few months...
Well, he had been very sick with cancer but was in recovery..
He had also just lost his loved Golden Retriever before he came up to vist us one summer...
I ,at the time, had a young border collie mix dog, Willow... and my uncle and her fell in love with each other during the months that he stayed with us.
So i asked my uncle if he would like to take her back home with him, because i KNEW it was what he needed.
Of course, it killed me inside, but i kept it hidden.
When he left he took her and they had a few very happy years together, where that dog bonded to him like nothing i have ever seen.
His cancer came back and when he was very ill in bed dying, Willow would lie in bed with him and give him comfort, she did NOT want to leave his side.
As he grew sicker, she became more frantic, and would now growl at people who tried to approach the bed to care for him.
Finally they HAD to put her in a crate the last day he was alive, because they were afriad of getting bit. And this dog was NOT a biter, she was VERY human friendly and trained. But i think she thought they were "hurting" him..
I WISH i could have been there at the time... i would have let that dog stay with him.
My other Uncle said that Willow KNEW when he died... because she started to howl and whine... it amazed everyone there to see it. And they still talk about it sometimes whenever my uncle comes up in family conversation..




Another one,
When MY dog Duke was dying one night..(i didnt know it..i just thought he was ill and was going to bring him to the vet early the next morning when they opened.. he had been vomiting earlier that day.. etc..)
Anyways, My 2 dogs Duke & Daisy Mae were so close..they grew up together and ate, slept, played, did EVERYTHING together..
Well that night that he was so ill, Daisy kept barking ALL night long.... on and on... so i would get up and check on them both... She was pacing and upset. But i just didnt understand WHAT she was telling me.

Like i said i knew he was ill, but not deathly ill, i just thought he was sleeping soundly and so i didnt wake him up.... just kept getting up during the night and making sure he was "okay"...
Well, Daisy KNEW something that i didnt... and she TRIED to tell us.
The next morning, we got up and checkd him again, and then i saw how ill he was, he was finally awake but he could not stand... his heart stopped just as we pulled into the vets parking lot. They tried to bring him back, but they couldnt.
Soo.. YES, i FIRMLY believe that dogs DO know when their loved ones, or members of their "pack" are really ill or passing away... and they DO respond to it.
And yes, some do mourn the loss, my Daisy SURELY did for a long while.