In the vast tapestry of animal behavior, few phenomena touch human observers more deeply than witnessing animals mourn their dead. For centuries, scientists dismissed the idea that non-human animals could experience grief, considering it anthropomorphism – attributing human characteristics to animals. However, as our understanding of animal cognition and emotional complexity has evolved, compelling evidence has emerged showing that many species demonstrate behaviors consistent with grief and mourning. From elaborate funeral rituals to prolonged vigils beside fallen companions, these expressions of loss reveal a profound emotional depth in the animal kingdom that bridges the perceived gap between humans and wildlife. This article explores thirteen remarkable wild animals that exhibit mourning behaviors, offering a glimpse into the emotional lives of creatures with whom we share our planet.
13. Elephants The Archetypal Mourners
Elephants stand as perhaps the most documented animal mourners in the wild. These highly intelligent pachyderms demonstrate elaborate rituals around death that can last for days. When encountering the remains of another elephant, they often grow quiet and somber, gently touching the bones with their trunks, particularly the skull and tusks, as if trying to recognize who has passed. They may cover deceased herd members with branches, leaves, and dirt in a behavior resembling a burial. Even more remarkably, elephants return to the death sites of family members years later, standing in silent contemplation – a behavior suggesting long-term memory of the deceased and ongoing mourning. Researchers have documented elephants keeping vigil over dying companions, attempting to lift them to their feet, and emitting distress calls when these efforts fail. The profundity of elephant grief is perhaps best exemplified by their treatment of infant deaths, where mothers have been observed carrying their deceased calves for days or even weeks, seemingly unable to accept the loss.
12. Chimpanzees Our Closest Mourning Relatives
Our closest genetic relatives, chimpanzees, display remarkably human-like mourning behaviors. Field researchers have documented numerous instances of chimps tending to the sick and dying with extraordinary tenderness. When a community member dies, chimpanzees often gather around the body in silence, sometimes grooming the deceased one last time. In one well-documented case at Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park, when an elderly female named Flo died, her adult son Flint fell into what observers described as a depression. He stopped eating, became withdrawn from the group, and died himself just weeks later at the same spot where his mother had passed. Similarly, chimpanzee mothers have been observed carrying their dead infants for days or weeks, grooming them and protecting them from flies – behavior that appears to indicate a difficulty in accepting the death. These profound responses to loss suggest chimpanzees form deep emotional bonds that continue even after death.
11. Dolphins Aquatic Mourners
Dolphins, with their large, complex brains and sophisticated social structures, exhibit some of the most haunting mourning behaviors in the animal kingdom. They have repeatedly been observed supporting their dead or dying companions at the water’s surface, seemingly trying to help them breathe – a behavior called “standing by.” In several documented cases, dolphin mothers have carried their dead calves for days, pushing them through the water in what appears to be a form of denial or persistent attachment. Researchers have witnessed groups of dolphins surrounding a dying member in what resembles a protective circle. In 2019, a study published in the Journal of Mammalogy documented Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins forming a sort of “funeral procession” around a deceased juvenile. Perhaps most poignantly, dolphins have been observed emitting distinctive distress calls when separated from a deceased pod member, suggesting an emotional response to loss that transcends mere biological programming.
10. Giraffes Towering Grief
Despite their gentle demeanor and towering presence, giraffes have long been underestimated in their capacity for complex emotions. Recent research has revealed surprising depth to their social connections and mourning behaviors. In the wild, giraffes have been observed standing vigil over their dead for extended periods. In 2010, researchers documented a female giraffe in Zambia remaining beside her deceased calf for four days, repeatedly returning even after being driven away by predators. In captivity, these patterns become even more apparent. Zoo staff have reported instances where giraffe herds gather around a dying member, nuzzling them and remaining nearby for hours after death. Female giraffes show particularly intense responses to the deaths of their calves, exhibiting signs of distress including pacing, reduced eating, and social withdrawal. The depth of their apparent grief challenges our understanding of these gentle giants, suggesting their emotional lives are far more complex than previously recognized.
9. Gorillas Solemn Farewells
Among the great apes, gorillas display some of the most profound responses to death. These highly intelligent primates maintain strong family bonds throughout their lives, and these connections seem to transcend death itself. Researchers have documented gorillas sitting with their deceased for hours or even days, sometimes grooming the body or attempting to wake them. In captivity, where observations can be more detailed, gorillas have been seen trying to revive dead companions by poking or shaking them, demonstrating what appears to be comprehension that something is wrong. When Binti Jua, a female western lowland gorilla at Brookfield Zoo, lost her infant, she carried the body for three days, only reluctantly surrendering it when it began to decompose. Perhaps most poignantly, gorillas have been observed covering their dead with available materials like straw or branches in what resembles a burial ritual. The depth of gorilla mourning provides a window into their emotional complexity and challenges our understanding of the boundaries between human and animal grief.
8. Crows Feathered Funeral Directors
Crows, members of the highly intelligent corvid family, conduct what researchers have termed “crow funerals.” When encountering a dead crow, these birds don’t simply fly away—they call loudly to summon others, sometimes gathering in groups of up to 40 individuals. The assembled murder (the collective noun for crows) will surround the deceased, creating a cacophony of calls in what appears to be a collective mourning ritual. This behavior serves multiple purposes—it warns others of potential danger in the area and creates a learning opportunity about threats, but the intensity and duration suggest an emotional component as well. Research from the University of Washington found that crows remember the faces of humans associated with dead crow encounters for years, avoiding those areas and even diving at people they associate with crow deaths. In captivity, crows have been observed bringing gifts or food to caretakers who showed kindness to deceased crow companions, suggesting not only recognition of death but a complex emotional response to it.
7. Orcas Deep Sea Mourners
Orcas, or killer whales, display some of the most heartbreaking mourning behaviors in the marine world. In 2018, the world watched as an orca named Tahlequah (J35) carried her dead newborn calf for an unprecedented 17 days, traveling more than 1,000 miles through the Pacific Northwest’s Salish Sea. This “tour of grief,” as researchers called it, was one of the most extended mourning displays ever recorded in any non-human species. The pod traveled slowly to accommodate the mother’s burden, with other females occasionally helping to support the calf’s body. This behavior isn’t isolated—researchers have documented multiple instances of orcas carrying deceased calves. Adult orcas also appear to mourn their companions, with pod members observed circling deceased adults and emitting distinctive vocalizations. Their complex social structures, which include matrilines where knowledge and culture are passed through generations, may explain the intensity of their grief. With some of the largest brains in the animal kingdom and highly developed emotional processing centers, orcas’ mourning behaviors may be among the closest analogs to human grief found in the wild.
6. Magpies Ritualistic Respects
Magpies, like their corvid cousins the crows, demonstrate surprising funeral-like behaviors when encountering their dead. Dr. Marc Bekoff, a cognitive ethologist, documented a remarkable case where four magpies carefully placed grass alongside a dead magpie’s body before two birds gently pecked at the corpse and another pair flew off to return with more grass, which they laid beside the body. After this apparent “grass ceremony,” the birds stood vigil for a few seconds before flying away. This deliberate placement of objects resembles a primitive funeral rite. Unlike behaviors that might be explained solely by predator avoidance or disease prevention, the gentle and seemingly purposeful nature of these actions suggests an emotional or social component. Magpies are known for their intelligence and complex social structures, possessing self-recognition capabilities (they can recognize themselves in mirrors) that are rare in the animal kingdom. This cognitive sophistication may explain their apparent recognition of and response to death, challenging our understanding of how non-mammalian species process loss.
5. Llamas Unexpected Sensitivity
Though less studied than primates or cetaceans, llamas have surprised researchers with their apparent mourning behaviors. These social camelids form strong bonds within their herds, and when a member dies, the remaining animals often display distinct behavioral changes. Herd members have been observed gathering around the deceased, sometimes making soft humming vocalizations that differ from their usual communication sounds. After a death, llamas may refuse to eat for days, stand motionless staring at the spot where the companion died, or repeatedly return to that location. In captivity, handlers report that removing a deceased llama too quickly can cause distress among the survivors, suggesting they benefit from time to process the loss. Particularly striking is the reported behavior of mother llamas who may stand over their deceased crias (baby llamas) for days, protecting the body and refusing to leave even for food or water. While scientific studies on llama grief are limited, these consistent observations across both wild and domestic settings suggest these gentle, social animals experience a form of mourning that deserves further investigation.
4. Wolves Pack Mourning
Wolves, with their intricate social structures and lifelong pack bonds, exhibit evident signs of grief when a pack member dies. Researchers have observed remaining wolves howling mournfully at the site of a companion’s death, sometimes continuing these vocalizations for days. Pack members often refuse to eat and display reduced activity levels following a significant loss. In one documented case, a pack in Yellowstone National Park lost its alpha female, resulting in the remaining wolves spending days near her body, howling and showing visible signs of distress. The pack’s routine was disrupted for weeks afterward. Wolf biologists note that the loss of an alpha wolf can dramatically affect pack dynamics, sometimes leading to the group’s dissolution—perhaps the ultimate testament to the importance of certain individuals. Rick McIntyre, a renowned wolf researcher, has documented cases where wolves stop playing and become withdrawn after losing pack mates, behaviors remarkably similar to human grief responses. These observations challenge the notion that mourning is unique to humans or limited to just a few species, suggesting instead that deep emotional bonds transcend species boundaries within highly social animals.
3. Bison Collective Grief
Bison, the massive herbivores that once dominated North American plains, display surprising mourning behaviors that highlight their complex social connections. When a herd member dies, particularly a calf, mother bison have been observed standing over the body for days, refusing to leave even when faced with danger. During these vigils, they’ll nudge the deceased with their snouts, appearing to attempt to rouse them. Perhaps most remarkably, researchers have documented entire herds slowing their migration patterns when a member dies, sometimes forming a circle around the deceased. This collective response suggests a herd-wide recognition of the loss. In Yellowstone National Park, biologists have reported cases where bison herds return to sites where members have died, even months later, standing quietly as if in remembrance. Female bison exhibit particularly strong responses to the deaths of their calves, producing distress calls and demonstrating decreased social interaction and feeding behaviors consistent with grief. These observations challenge our understanding of ungulate cognition and suggest that emotional depth in animals extends beyond the species we typically associate with complex emotions.
2. Western Scrub Jays Death Rituals
Western scrub jays, members of the highly intelligent corvid family, perform what scientists have termed “funerals” when they encounter a dead jay. Researchers at the University of California, Davis documented that upon discovering a dead jay, these birds will call loudly to attract other jays to the scene. The gathered birds will then stop foraging and fly down to the dead bird, surrounding it while continuing to vocalize in a distinctive way that differs from their alarm calls. This gathering can last for 15 to 30 minutes before the birds disperse. While this behavior likely serves as a warning about potential dangers, the specificity of the response to dead conspecifics (members of their own species) versus other dead animals suggests something more complex is occurring. The jays will also avoid the area where they found the dead bird for at least 24 hours, indicating they associate the location with danger or death. This sophisticated response to death demonstrates not just recognition of mortality but a communal processing of the event, challenging our understanding of avian cognition and emotional complexity.
1. Sea Lions Loud Lamentations
Sea lions, highly social marine mammals, display striking behaviors when confronted with death within their colonies. Researchers studying Steller sea lions have documented instances where colony members gather around a deceased individual, particularly if it’s a pup, sometimes touching the body with their noses and emitting distinctive vocalizations that differ from their typical calls. These vocalizations have been described as more prolonged and mournful than their standard communication sounds. Mother sea lions show especially intense responses to the deaths of their pups, sometimes carrying the deceased young with them for days, repeatedly attempting to nudge them back to life. In some observed cases, females have been seen defending dead pups from scavengers or other sea lions, suggesting a continued sense of protection and attachment. The colonial nature of sea lion societies may explain the sometimes collective response to death, where multiple individuals appear to recognize and react to the loss. While scientific studies specifically focused on sea lion mourning are limited, these consistent observations across different species of sea lions suggest these marine mammals experience a form of grief that warrants further investigation.
Conclusion: Understanding Animal Grief Beyond Anthropomorphism
The behaviors exhibited by these thirteen species represent just a glimpse into the emotional complexity of the animal kingdom. As science continues to evolve, we’re moving away from dismissing animal mourning as mere anthropomorphism toward recognizing that grief may be an evolutionary adaptation shared across many species with complex social structures. The neurological foundations for emotions appear remarkably consistent across mammals, suggesting that the capacity for mourning may be more widespread than previously acknowledged. While we must be careful not to project human emotions directly onto animals, we should be equally cautious about denying the evident emotional lives of other species simply because they experience the world differently than we do. Understanding animal grief not only enriches our appreciation of wildlife but also raises important ethical questions about how we treat and protect these emotionally complex beings. Perhaps most profoundly, recognizing mourning behaviors in animals reminds us that the capacity for deep connection and loss transcends human experience, forming part of a shared emotional heritage across the vertebrate world.
As a little kid, I fell in love with nature, wildlife, and animals. Living in the USA, South Africa, Italy, China and Germany gave me the opportunity to discover the world's Wildlife. My favorite animals are Mountain Gorillas, Siberian Tigers, and Great White Sharks.
I'm a certified PADI Open Water Diver, went to Everest Base Camp and Trekked Gorillas in Uganda. I hold a Master of Science in Economics and Finance.
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