Coping with mortality: responses of monkeys and great apes to collapsed, inanimate and dead conspecifics

Marco, Arianna De; Cozzolino, Roberto; Thierry, Bernard

doi:10.1080/03949370.2021.1893826

Cited by 11 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 159 publications

(385 reference statements)

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“…A highly dexterous, prehensile trunk (along with tusks mainly in female African elephants; figure 3 f ) perhaps enables an elephant to carry a carcass [ 49 ] without much impediment to movement. Carrying corpses in an ‘unusual' manner (primates: draped around the neck, holding one limb; cetaceans: using the mouth and dorsal fins; hippopotamidae: using the mouth; and elephants (as observed in this study): using the mouth, dragging by trunk) unlike the manner they were carried or cared for when these individuals were alive, might in itself hint at an existence of awareness that the individuals can no longer move or function on their own [ 17 , 55 , 56 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As observed in primates, this may depend on multiple factors including the age of the dead infant (younger infants are carried for longer) [ 50 , 57 ] and environmental including climatological factors [ 58 ]. For example, carrying may last longer in a terrestrial than an aquatic habitat due to faster decomposition in the latter [ 16 , 55 ]. Similarly, carrying duration may be extended under cold and dry conditions (due to slower decomposition) than in warm and wet conditions [ 59 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Epimeletic responses such as supporting or attempting to lift the dying or dead individual have been reported in various social mammals including primates [ 17 , 55 ] and cetaceans [ 51 , 52 , 69 ]. Elephants frequently use their legs, trunk and tusks to lift fallen conspecifics [ 25 , 33 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As elephants are precocial species, maternal carrying of a live calf is not an innate behaviour (though a case of a mother carrying her weak calf using her tusks and trunk was reported in African elephants [65]). Therefore, even after the death, along with maternal instincts elephant mothers, like primates, may receive infantile cues from the carcass (which resembles a living calf in terms of colour, size and smell, at least for a short time) [17,55] motivating them to interact with their unresponsive calves. Our observations showed relatively older female elephants carrying a dead calf, indicating the potential influence of the mother's experiences or parity, unlike as observed in primates [50].…”

Section: Ultimate Causation Of Dead Calf Carryingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Viewing the rare through public lenses: insights into dead calf carrying and other thanatological responses in Asian elephants using YouTube videos

2022

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Documenting the behavioural repertoire of an animal species is important for understanding that species' natural history. Many behaviours such as mating, parturition and death may be observed only rarely in the wild due to the low frequency of occurrence, short duration and the species' elusiveness. Opportunistic documentation of rare behaviours is therefore valuable for deciphering the behavioural complexity in a species. In this context, digital platforms may serve as useful data sources for studying rare behaviours in animals. Using videos uploaded on YouTube, we document and construct a tentative repertoire of thanatological responses (death-related behaviours) in Asian elephants ( Elephas maximus ). The most frequently observed thanatological responses included postural changes, guarding/keeping vigil, touching, investigating the carcass, epimeletic behaviours and vocalizations. We also describe some infrequently observed behaviours, including carrying dead calves by adult females, re-assurance-like behaviours and attempts to support dying or dead conspecifics, some of which were only known anecdotally in Asian elephants. Our observations indicate the significance of open-source video data on digital platforms for gaining insights into rarely observed behaviours and support the accumulating evidence for higher cognitive abilities of Asian elephants in the context of comparative thanatology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ultimate Causation Of Dead Calf Carryingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Viewing the rare through public lenses: insights into dead calf carrying and other thanatological responses in Asian elephants using YouTube videos

2022

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“…Recently, there has been much debate on how chimpanzees perceive death (Anderson, 2018;De Marco et al, 2022). This study provides rare but valuable wild data that contribute to this debate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Behavioral responses of wild chimpanzees toward a juvenile that suddenly lost its animacy due to a fall accident

Shimada

Yano

2023

Preprint

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Detailed observations of animal reactions to a collapsed individual in wild are rare but essential to debates about the perception of death by nonhuman animals, including chimpanzees. A male juvenile chimpanzee named Volta (VO), a member of the M group in the Mahale Mountains National Park, fell from a tall tree and was temporarily incapacitated, suffering a severe concussion and nasal bone fracture. However, VO showed signs of gradual recovery. We compared the behavior of other chimpanzees towards VO with the previous reports on the behavior towards collapsed or recently dead group members. We found that behaviors towards VO were similar to those observed towards collapsed or dead members. These included other-regarding behaviors and aggressive behaviors, and notably, licking of VO’s blood, which has not been previously reported. Adult males tended to be in close proximity to VO for longer periods than adult females. The social situation with adult males including alpha male, surrounding VO likely influenced the behavior of other individuals. Chimpanzees demonstrated the ability to infer the state of recovery of the injured individual, by closely approaching, directing various behaviors, and observing the reactions of the victim, and demonstrate tolerance and consideration towards the victim.

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Reactions to a dead adult female in Japanese macaques at Arashiyama: Why did a non-affiliated female groom the corpse?

Minami

Ishikawa

2023

Primates

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Coping with mortality: responses of monkeys and great apes to collapsed, inanimate and dead conspecifics

Cited by 11 publications

References 159 publications

Viewing the rare through public lenses: insights into dead calf carrying and other thanatological responses in Asian elephants using YouTube videos

Viewing the rare through public lenses: insights into dead calf carrying and other thanatological responses in Asian elephants using YouTube videos

Behavioral responses of wild chimpanzees toward a juvenile that suddenly lost its animacy due to a fall accident

Reactions to a dead adult female in Japanese macaques at Arashiyama: Why did a non-affiliated female groom the corpse?

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