tabtab13
Active Member
Just been listening to a rather interesting debate on the radio about whether or not pets mourn - either on the death of a family member or another family pet. Not surprisingly, the views were pretty clear cut - those who had seen it and gave examples believed they do, while others dismissed it as complete hokum.
I've not seen it myself, in fact, a few years back we had to have one of our cats put to sleep and our other one showed no difference. Perhaps because they didn't get on that well, so may be what he was feeling was relief!
However, I see no reason why they shouldn't mourn. As an example, any dog owner will know that the bond between you and the dog is very strong, so why shouldn't it feel upset and distressed if you are no longer around.
I once saw a documentary about a lioness in the wild who 'adopted' a young deer or impala. The locals couldn't believe this and a film crew set out to find it and record what was going on. And there the two of them were! They were monitored for a while, but unfortunately a passing lion caught the scent and killed the young deer. The sadness of the lioness was evident.
Elephants have also been filmed gathered around a dead member of their family for hours on end - are they mourning or is it a case of they just don't understand what's happened?
So, have any members experienced a sense of their pets mourning? Do you think it's possible - or are we just putting 'human emotions' onto animals?
I've not seen it myself, in fact, a few years back we had to have one of our cats put to sleep and our other one showed no difference. Perhaps because they didn't get on that well, so may be what he was feeling was relief!
However, I see no reason why they shouldn't mourn. As an example, any dog owner will know that the bond between you and the dog is very strong, so why shouldn't it feel upset and distressed if you are no longer around.
I once saw a documentary about a lioness in the wild who 'adopted' a young deer or impala. The locals couldn't believe this and a film crew set out to find it and record what was going on. And there the two of them were! They were monitored for a while, but unfortunately a passing lion caught the scent and killed the young deer. The sadness of the lioness was evident.
Elephants have also been filmed gathered around a dead member of their family for hours on end - are they mourning or is it a case of they just don't understand what's happened?
So, have any members experienced a sense of their pets mourning? Do you think it's possible - or are we just putting 'human emotions' onto animals?