What are animal reactions to death?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion explores animal reactions to death, particularly focusing on the hypothetical scenario of a mother cat witnessing the death of its kitten. Participants consider various aspects of animal behavior, awareness of death, and emotional responses, including grief and aggression.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions how a mother cat would react if its kitten were killed in front of it, pondering whether it would show sadness or aggression.
  • Another participant provides links to articles discussing animal mourning and grief, suggesting that animals do experience grief but may do so after the death is evident.
  • There is a discussion about when animals can detect death, with one participant suggesting that animals may not understand death in the same philosophical way humans do.
  • Some participants propose that animals, particularly scavengers, can detect dead animals, indicating a level of awareness about death.
  • Several comments express skepticism about the proposed experiment, with suggestions to consider the dangers of provoking a wild animal like a mother bear.
  • One participant argues that while animals may not understand death philosophically, they still react to it, drawing parallels to human emotions.
  • Another participant mentions that the reaction of animals to death can vary greatly depending on numerous factors, indicating the complexity of the issue.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on how animals react to death, with multiple competing views on their awareness and emotional responses. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the specifics of animal reactions and understanding of death.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight various factors that could influence animal reactions, such as familiarity with humans, the nature of the relationship, and the specific circumstances of the event. There is an acknowledgment of the complexity and variability in animal behavior related to death.

revv
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This might be a little unsettling for some and I don't know exactly where to post this but here we go...

What would the reaction of say a mother cat be in the moment if you where to take one of it's baby and kill it in front of them? Would they attack you? Would they show some signs of sadness? Would they even be aware? I have the feeling the mother cat wouldn't do anything at all, are they able to understand what just happened?

There's a few things to also take into consideration like if the mother is familiar and comfortable with you around.

Take this scenario for example... you are laying on the ground petting it's baby with the mother and then you just slam it into the ground, what would the reaction be like?
 
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I know animals experience grief but they do this after the fact that the body hasn't moved in a long time isn't this the case?
 
So you are asking how and when an animal can detect another's death?
 
revv said:
What would the reaction of say a mother cat be in the moment if you where to take one of it's baby and kill it in front of them?
I think you should try this with an animal more your size, to make it a more fair experiment. Say, a mama bear and her cub. Be sure to have a friend take some video of your experiement, so you can properly be nominated for the 2020 Darwin Award.
 
More like if they realize what death looks like
 
Death is an abstract concept, so no, they don't understand it philosophically like us humans, but certainly many animals especially scavengers know how to detect a dead animal.
 
berkeman said:
I think you should try this with an animal more your size, to make it a more fair experiment. Say, a mama bear and her cub. Be sure to have a friend take some video of your experiement, so you can properly be nominated for the 2020 Darwin Award.

But if the mother bear is familiar and comfortable around you... would they still try to attack you? Of course any wild animal will attack someone if they just run and try to hurt there cubs.
 
revv said:
But if the mother bear is familiar and comfortable around you... would they still try to attack you? Of course any wild animal will attack someone if they just run and try to hurt there cubs.
Would you not lash out at someone who murdered your loved one just because you knew them a bit?
 
  • #10
Greg Bernhardt said:
Would you not lash out at someone who murdered your loved one just because you knew them a bit?

Yea I probably would but where talking about animals here
 
  • #11
revv said:
Yea I probably would but where talking about animals here
Humans are animals
 
  • #12
btw, there are tons of animals that use "play dead" as an evasive maneuver. So it's not so clear cut.
 
  • #13
Greg Bernhardt said:
Death is an abstract concept, so no, they don't understand it philosophically like us humans, but certainly many animals especially scavengers know how to detect a dead animal.

So why can't they understand it philosophically like us humans if we are both animals?
 
  • #14
revv said:
So why can't they understand it philosophically like us humans if we are both animals?
Same reason we can't change color like chameleons. We happened to evolve with a sophisticated brain.
 
  • #15
revv said:
But if the mother bear is familiar and comfortable around you... would they still try to attack you?
Just be sure that someone gets this experiment on video. That's all I'm asking.
 
  • #16
revv said:
But if the mother bear is familiar and comfortable around you... would they still try to attack you?
Most likely, yes. In 'panic' or 'fight' mode any animal will just jump without thinking.
Just watch some cat videos and you will understand.
 
  • #17
I think there's too many variables for the reaction to take into consideration, you can delete this thread.
 

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