Chimpanzees' grief caught on camera in Cameroon

I do not think it is limited to those closely related to us. I have seen dogs grieve.

I had two dogs for about 10 years. The male died first. His mate, the female, was sitting in a corner of the yard shivering when I finished burying her mate. I knelt down in front of her and hugged her. She raised her head and let out a howl of pure sadness and mourning.

I got another dog to keep her company, but it didn't work. She just kind of drifted away and passed away 2 months later.

She was a doberman and the new dog I got was a doberman as well. One morning he was at the fence. His little stump tail wagging. He was so happy. The neighbor's new puppy was coming over to visit.

I couldn't get outside in time, the pup was already in the road. The car didn't slow and didn't swerve. When the pup was hit my doberman let out a scream of pure horror and cried long almost sobbing wails.

They do feel emotions.

I as well am an animal lover. I had to put down my dog and cat last year as they both had illness. very hard. Again another reason I enjoy this site. many of you out there are good people. heart felt post.

This has been seen in other instances as well...

Have you ever seen elephants grieve over a dead pack member? It's equally as sad.

I also remember a story two whales that were stranded too close to shore. People kept trying to lead them out into the open sea but it wasn't working. A dolphin came along and proceeded to successfully lead them out and it never returned.

dsc.discovery.com

reply to post by Frogs


Oh wow, your post broke my heart! That's so sad, both cases. I think alot of people underestimate animals. They don't really know until they've seen them act out their emotions like you have.

My friends and family laughed at my boyfriend and I when we got ourselves a pet rat, Ada. They thought it ridiculous.

They have completely changed their minds and look forward to us letting her out of her cage because she is so full of personality and very playful. They absolutely love her and express their surprise at how different she is compared their previous notions of what a rat was like.

When you look into a dogs eyes you cant say it has no feelings. Just seeing its excitment when you come home is enough evidence. Its such a sad thing when an animal has to be put down. Its even more sad when they get put down because the master isnt responsible or loving enough to take care of a sick animal. Just like my mom putting my 6 year old blue heeler down on the excuse she was blind.

reply to post by HolgerTheDane


My dad and step-mom have a particularly sassy kitty. She does the same thing. She'll let you pet her and she'll purr then just lose her mind and swat at you (thankfully, yet unfortunately at the same time, she is declawed).

Is the cat you have a Torty by any chance? I've noticed that those little black and orange fur balls have quite a temper.

Anyway, one time, I was living with them when I was 21 to get my crap straightened out and we were in a verbal argument. You know, a "I'm not a kid anymore!" and "You're under our roof, you'll live by our rules!" argument. We were yelling at eachother, they were seated at the table and I was standing in the doorway to the kitchen and I kept hearing Cinders (the kitty) growling behind me, but I ignored it for the most part. Next thing I know, the little devil growled, hissed, then bit my Achilles tendon (not hard, just a warning) as if she was upset I was fighting with my parents, her owners.

I totally reminded me of a dog that gets very protective of its owners and will growl at people they assume to be threatening them in some way. It was crazy, I had never seen a cat act like that before.

Telegraph is so BS. Always BS.

Magpie and this,

where's the video?

Originally posted by Ethereal Gargoyle

And I have also heard about Hachiko the dog. At first I thought it was surely exaggerated or misunderstood. But then I read all I could about it, and no, if anything, the story was "watered" down.
BTW, good for Gere!

I think there was also a famous faithful dog in Scotland.... Bobby, was it?
He has a statue erected somehwere.

Doh - turns out "Bobby" was mentioned in the same Wikipedia entry about Hachiko!
This is his individual entry:

en.wikipedia.org...


(And thanks for the no replies....
Nobody from Scotland here?)

Wonderful post! I agree with the other members here that dont understand why anyone would think animals DONT have emotion! they dont show it like humans and most likely feel in different way, but the feelings are still there no matter..
I have cats, they are highly regarded by me and sadly, a few months ago now the mother of our youngest cat was killed by a car, her son (though now grown) was sad and depressed for days after.. and he even visited her grave in the back garden on a number of occasions since..
I was speaking to a neighbor one day and the subject turned to how cats communicate.. and she seemed to just figure out that they do in fact speak to one another! i was dumbfounded for a moment to think anyone would think they didnt.. when i explained they were most likely telepathic (watching them interact with one another shows this IMHO) she just said 'really'??? i ended the conversation on the topic, but its stuck with me since..
Beautiful OP thank you for sharing this...S&F

Originally posted by nunya13
reply to post by HolgerTheDane

 

My dad and step-mom have a particularly sassy kitty. She does the same thing. She'll let you pet her and she'll purr then just lose her mind and swat at you (thankfully, yet unfortunately at the same time, she is declawed).

Is the cat you have a Torty by any chance? I've noticed that those little black and orange fur balls have quite a temper.

Anyway, one time, I was living with them when I was 21 to get my crap straightened out and we were in a verbal argument. You know, a "I'm not a kid anymore!" and "You're under our roof, you'll live by our rules!" argument. We were yelling at eachother, they were seated at the table and I was standing in the doorway to the kitchen and I kept hearing Cinders (the kitty) growling behind me, but I ignored it for the most part. Next thing I know, the little devil growled, hissed, then bit my Achilles tendon (not hard, just a warning) as if she was upset I was fighting with my parents, her owners.

I totally reminded me of a dog that gets very protective of its owners and will growl at people they assume to be threatening them in some way. It was crazy, I had never seen a cat act like that before.

This reminded me of the cat we recently lost.. anytime my partner and i would argue or i would be yelling she would come ver to me and start nipping at me wherever she could to get my attention to calm down.. i always thought that quite interesting as other cats i have had would simply leave the room lol

Originally posted by Full_Vision
***snip***
I was speaking to a neighbor one day and the subject turned to how cats communicate.. and she seemed to just figure out that they do in fact speak to one another! i was dumbfounded for a moment to think anyone would think they didnt.. when i explained they were most likely telepathic (watching them interact with one another shows this IMHO) she just said 'really'??? i ended the conversation on the topic, but its stuck with me since..
***snip***

When I was a kid we had two dogs - a small poodle and a rather large cross breed.
I have seen the poodle walk up in front of the sleeping friend and just stand there. After a few seconds the big one got up, went to the front door, opened it and went back to it's sleeping place and dozed off again.

@ nunya13
I don't know the race of my cats. They are probably nothing special. All I know is that they are African-Danish ( sorry, but we are not allowed to call them black )
The two siblings are identical and Grumpy is shorter and has more upholstry.

Originally posted by LordBaskettIV
So what?

Until a decade or two ago, it appeared that other animals -- including monkeys -- did not kill members of their own species, whereas humans did. But as field studies in animal behavior have become more thorough, the myth of the peaceful primate -- or non-murderous animal generally -- has largely been dispelled. Orangutans rape, for instance, and chimpanzees murder. Wolves also kill others of their own kind, as do lions, elk, and bison. In fact, nearly every animal species that has been carefully studied sooner or later reveals its penchant for lethal violence.

we are animals, get over it...it's nothing special.

[edit on 28-10-2009 by LordBaskettIV]

Wow, LordBasket. You're a real (I'll leave the word I chose out so this doesnt get removed) Heartless is the next best thing I can think of. The pic is amazing. Why take a nice story and try to stomp on it?

We had a dog that was a member of the family for 15 years. She was loved, and given every respect you would accord another human. She was never punished, scolded, or ignored. Not once.

She was absolutely devoted to us. She was funny, and intelligent. She was full of character. She let us know when she was ill, or hurt. She would lay next to you, waiting for you to wake up in the morning, and then be so happy and excited when you said "HI" to her. Sometimes, if she had to go "potty" she'd give you little nudges with her nose, to let you know, she needed to go out. Yet, she was so respectful, and gentle about it.
She was so unhappy, and let us know it, whenever we had to leave the house. She would watch and wait for our return, from her favorite chair in the living room window. One of her greatest joys, was going "Bye-Bye" or "for a ride". She loved to visit family members. She knew what Christmas and birthday presents were, and would open them with great excitement, to see what she got! She understood grocery bags, and knew one of them held her treats, and she'd look for them. Once we forgot, and she was very unhappy that her "nummies" weren't in there. It was all over her face.
( I made a special trip, that day, to go and get them )

When we talked to her, she'd pay attention, and look us in the eyes, shifted attention between those where speaking. She had command of understanding complex sentences, and questions.

She knew our moods, unhappiness, and when we had a head ache, for she'd stay close by. Watching! Coming to you, to check on you.

When she was dying of a brain tumor, she refused to go to sleep for three days. She held on, staying awake, little by little, getting weaker and weaker. She wouldn't eat, drink, or even go out side. She just wanted to be next to us. Finally, she looked at us, with her eyes wide open, tearing, and then she gave a small exhale, and relaxed, closed her eyes, and died in our arms.

We were crying as we lost her, and then held onto each other, as she lay next to us on the bed, gone forever. We lost our beloved little girl. She past on to whatever there is for animals once they die. We'd like to think, she went to some sort of animal heaven...because she deserved it.

She is laid to rest, in an animal cemetery.

How or why anyone could torment an animal, is beyond my comprehension.

Animals emotions are so vivid once you start recognize what emotion you see. Quite a while ago I realized that my dachshund seems to smile when you give her that special attention only a dachshund likes.

Then I realized other emotions too. Sadness, worry and satisfaction when you scratch her chest, and also with my other dogs too.

Then I realized that even other species smiles do...

Have a look, from cats to elephants! Their soul-like expressions are revealed if you watch closely...

It is hard to think that anyone could harm an innocent animal who looks up to you as the superior specie, and you still find people harming innocent and loving animals.

[edit on 3-11-2009 by Louwey]

Originally posted by Confused and Dazed!
We had a dog that was a member of the family for 15 years. She was loved, and given every respect you would accord another human. She was never punished, scolded, or ignored. Not once.

She was absolutely devoted to us. She was funny, and intelligent. She was full of character. She let us know when she was ill, or hurt. She would lay next to you, waiting for you to wake up in the morning, and then be so happy and excited when you said "HI" to her. Sometimes, if she had to go "potty" she'd give you little nudges with her nose, to let you know, she needed to go out. Yet, she was so respectful, and gentle about it.
She was so unhappy, and let us know it, whenever we had to leave the house. She would watch and wait for our return, from her favorite chair in the living room window. One of her greatest joys, was going "Bye-Bye" or "for a ride". She loved to visit family members. She knew what Christmas and birthday presents were, and would open them with great excitement, to see what she got! She understood grocery bags, and knew one of them held her treats, and she'd look for them. Once we forgot, and she was very unhappy that her "nummies" weren't in there. It was all over her face.
( I made a special trip, that day, to go and get them )

When we talked to her, she'd pay attention, and look us in the eyes, shifted attention between those where speaking. She had command of understanding complex sentences, and questions.

She knew our moods, unhappiness, and when we had a head ache, for she'd stay close by. Watching! Coming to you, to check on you.

When she was dying of a brain tumor, she refused to go to sleep for three days. She held on, staying awake, little by little, getting weaker and weaker. She wouldn't eat, drink, or even go out side. She just wanted to be next to us. Finally, she looked at us, with her eyes wide open, tearing, and then she gave a small exhale, and relaxed, closed her eyes, and died in our arms.

We were crying as we lost her, and then held onto each other, as she lay next to us on the bed, gone forever. We lost our beloved little girl. She past on to whatever there is for animals once they die. We'd like to think, she went to some sort of animal heaven...because she deserved it.

She is laid to rest, in an animal cemetery.

How or why anyone could torment an animal, is beyond my comprehension.

What a loss for you. She sounded like a true member to your family.

We do grow fond of them.

What I see, what it looks like to me, is when one give more personal attention your pet, they become almost like a child in your house. They do not grow up as human adults in the family but they do have their role. Intelligent to the point where you can talk with them and they understand what you say. They make you happy and look at you with those supporting eyes just when you need them.

Sounds like you miss you doggy a lot. Get a new puppy. You would be amazed what you can learn to him/her, since you already know already so much about them!

It's sad they don't live as long as we do. On the other hand it's perhaps better for them if they have a bad family?

Great Thread,

Ive really enjoyed reading the contributions by you all.

This realisation or understanding rather than knowing, that occurs when we, us as human we observes deep emotions in animals, besides the usually thought about or reported base behaviour of agression, showing the very differant emotion or grief... the sympathy, even maybe sharing the feeling of grief, what we have in our hearts at that moment is the basis for a more peacefull, loving and sucessfull maybe even enlightened world.

The realisation at a deep level that we too have those same feelings, we share that same life experience, and as is sometimes maybe wrongly worded, as this thread shows by the news and reponces to, the "Humanity" of that emotion and feeling... well its a very deep rabbit hole lol if you follow that truth truly and deeply.

However it does lead to compassion, peace, kindness and respect. Surely then these values if broadened to a society are what we all want.

We all want to be happy like that.

And by seeing these things understand that the Chimpanzee is in pain (emotional) and wants happiness to.

On that thought some current threads maybe of interest to the contributers.

Anyone who is interesed in this thread will also find lots of information about Chimp Societies, interaction, intelligense and sexual habits lol

Humans Closest Sex Mad Relative Under Threat of Extinction

The above is a MUST see for the info on Chimps if you like our hairy relatives.

I did the following and tried to play devils advocate, to see it from a very logical side, that is the interraction of animals and humans and the emotions of it.
Bunny Rabbits used for Fuel to Heat Homes

So thanks guys I really enjoyed the thoughts and stories on this thread.

Kind Regards,

Elf

chimps are so human... 98% human. and the best part is, humans are 98% human too... 50% banana.. ~

So many of these posts i am reading here have me all teared up!! lol I couldnt imagine my life without pets (currently 2 cats and a dog and 3 fish, and hopefully soon a rat or two as we love pet rats) my husband really just didnt get it at first why i 'needed' a kitten as soon as we moved to a house we knew we were settling into..when living with my parents i had 2 cats i was very close to but were both too old to move really when i grew up..after having them in the house awhile he finally gets it lol. My first cat who died of old age a few years ago now was a great hunter and a wonderful companion.. when i was about 11 i had a very bad case of chicken pox on top of a bad flu, the entire time i was bed ridden, apart to go to the toilet or eat, he layed on my chest watching over me.. i will never forget that..

reply to post by Haydn_17


Im new to the site ,so many different topics. This one hit home or hit something for sure, Thanks for the enlightenment in more ways than one, The magpie thing was really a trip. heart warming and eye opening.