The Unusual Reactions of Animals to Death

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Susanamunso wants researchers to be a little less focused on stories of animal death that look familiar. She says instead, focus on the ways that animals react to death that are wildly different from humans. Susanamunso: In examples like this, and there are a lot of them, the animals are approaching loss and death differently.

A dog on its owner’s grave. A killer whale carrying around its dead calf. A goose that isolates when its mate dies. These behaviors in animals may look like human mourning, but should scientists call them "grief?"

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Jennifer Vonk's research study on pet cats reactions to the death of companion animals can be found here.

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