Apes and Monkeys Have an Awareness of Death, Study Suggests (2024)
Non-human primates like monkeys and apes appear to have an awareness of death in the same way humans do, scientists have said. After analyzing over 200 years worth of research into how primates deal with death, they found common behaviors emerged—including carrying their dead, defending the deceased from threats and exhibiting a grief-like response.
There are many stories about apes and monkeys grieving for their dead. For example, a BBC documentary in 2017 appeared to show a group of langur monkeys grieving for what they believe is a dead baby—even though it was actually just a robotic spy monkey.
The same year, scientists observed a chimpanzee using tools to clean the body of a deceased group member. A female sat down with the dead male and used a firm stem of grass to clean his teeth. The practice, researchers say, suggests chimps may have a more sophisticated response to death than we currently know.
Andre Gonçalves from Japan's Kyoto University and Susana Carvalho from the University of Oxford in the U.K. say there is a huge amount of anecdotal evidence relating to they way non-human primates deal with death—but a review of the literature to find specific characteristics and behaviors has been lacking.
"For the past two centuries, non-human primates have been reported to inspect, protect, retrieve, carry or drag the dead bodies of their conspecifics and, for nearly the same amount of time, sparse scientific attention has been paid to such behaviours," they wrote in a study published in Biological Reviews.
In their analysis of 240 reports, Gonçalves and Carvalho showed that specific responses emerge among different non-human primate species. Often this involves carrying the dead around—especially mothers and their dead babies. Species that are unable to grasp objects—such as lemurs and tamarins—are observed trying to carry their dead even though they lack the ability.
They also found that group members defend the bodies of the deceased and returning to the body or site of death: "Such places may hold residual information about the event which can arouse curiosity or emotional distress," they wrote. This behavior tended to happen when an adult died, rather than a juvenile. The researchers speculate this could relate to attachments, with members needing to re-categorize from living to dead—a behavior they say is essential to the grieving process.
In one anecdote about a family of chimpanzees studied by Jane Goodall, a mother named Flo died before her son Flint had become fully independent. After her death, Flint would stare at the nest they shared and returned to the site of her death. He exhibited signs of clinical depression and stopped eating and interacting with other group members. Eventually his immune system became too weak and he also died.
In another case, an adult male howler monkey was observed staying close to the corpse of a female for five days after her death, "suggesting close proximity between these individuals in life."
"Considering all these findings and given their cognitive abilities, we argue that non-human primates are capable of an implicit awareness of death," Gonçalves and Carvalho wrote.
They say more research will be needed to confirm whether non-human primates are aware of death—and to what extent they are. "It's not an all-or-nothing ability," Gonçalves said in a statement. "Awareness of death includes things such as animate/inanimate distinction, or the sensory and contextual discrimination of living/dead. The concept of death is something we humans acquire between ages three to 10. We can infer that non-human primates have some aspects of death awareness but, thus far, only humans conceptualize it at a higher order."
The researchers also say further investigation could help shed light on the evolution of our own funeral practices: "Given that there exists a considerable gap in the fossil and archaeological record concerning how early hominins might have interacted with their dead, extant primates may provide valuable insight into how and in which contexts thanatological behaviours would have occurred."
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
After analyzing over 200 years worth of research into how primates deal with death, they found common behaviors emerged—including carrying their dead, defending the deceased from threats and exhibiting a grief-like response. There are many stories about apes and monkeys grieving for their dead.
A growing body of evidence suggests that at least some species recognize death's special nature. “I believe we are now justified in thinking that chimpanzees have some kind of awareness of death,” says psychologist James Anderson of Scotland's University of Stirling, who has been studying chimp responses to the dying.
Primates have been used in research for the past hundred years as a window into our shared evolutionary history, to learn more about their unique behavioral and psychological processes, and as models for human behavior and diseases.
They may carry the corpse for days or more before abandoning it. They groom, inspect and protect it, sometimes allowing group members to explore it, and rare cases of cannibalism have been reported. No significant difference is observed in the way that monkeys and great apes treat the bodies of infants.
Primatologists study both living and extinct primates in their natural habitats and in laboratories by conducting field studies and experiments in order to understand aspects of their evolution and behavior.
Monkeys. Monkeys of many different species act like “gate-keepers” or guards of their deceased loved ones, often standing watch over the body for days. They have been seen carrying the bodies of their dead babies, often for weeks, while screaming out in grief.
It is thought that animals, and especially cats, can detect by smell the chemical changes that occur in an animal or human body immediately before death. They have also been known to respond to the physical and emotional needs of the animal or person that is passing away.
Primatology is the study of the behavior, biology, evolution, and taxonomy of nonhuman primates. Primatologists are united by a common interest in study subjects, but not necessarily by uniformity in academic training.
Primate studies provide empirical proof that many purported aspects of human uniqueness, such as intelligence and culture, are unique to humans only insofar as they are defined as such (Cartmill 1990).
We can not say for certain that chimpanzees mourn their dead, but their grieving behaviors are very similar to that of humans. Further research may weaken the differences between humans and chimps.
Like humans, non-human primates (NHPs) can develop depression- and anxiety-like signs. Here, we first define human depression and anxiety, examine equivalent species-specific behaviors in NHPs, and consider models and current methods to identify and evaluate these behaviors.
They will get through their grief in their own time in their own unique way. Comforting grief in pets is similar to comforting grief in humans. Various expressions of grief will fluctuate from day to day, and sometimes hour by hour. Remember, grief is not black or white.
However, if an entire primate species goes extinct, the parasites connected to it might have no other suitable hosts and disappear too. What is this? Herrera and his team have found that if the 108 endangered primate species go extinct, 250 species of parasites could be doomed as well.
Primatologists study prosimians, monkeys and apes, using this work to understand the features that make each group distinct and those that link groups together.
When confronted with uncertain or incomplete information in decision-making situations, monkeys and apes opt for either escaping the situation or seeking additional information. These responses have been interpreted as evidence of metacognitive abilities.
Specific brain areas, such as the lower brain stem in mammals, control these states. In the sense of being awake, therefore, most animals are conscious.
Introduction: My name is Clemencia Bogisich Ret, I am a super, outstanding, graceful, friendly, vast, comfortable, agreeable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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