Animals That Mourn the Dead and Hold Grieving Rituals

Humans aren’t the only species that mourn their dead. Mother chimpanzees have been observed carrying their dead babies for months, continuing to groom them during this time. Giraffes, crows, and elephants are among the animals that appear to grieve for their dead. Some animals have been observed performing death rituals, including burial. It’s not just mammals; many colony-dwelling insects also have specific behaviors for dealing with dead members. For example, bees have workers who act as undertakers, with the sole job of removing dead bees from the nest.

Not every animal that buries its dead does so for emotional reasons. Social insects, for example, need to remove dead nestmates to keep the colony free of pathogens. However, this behavior does show an understanding of death, perhaps hinting at animal intelligence we’ve only recently begun to study and attempt to understand.

Below are examples of animals that bury their dead, as well as others that, while not burying their dead, display distinct rituals surrounding the death of a group member.

1. Elephants

Elephants form tight-knit social groups with deep bonds that last a lifetime. It’s no wonder these animals are affected by the death of a family member. Both African and Asian elephants have been observed by scientists as mourning and burying their dead. African elephants sometimes cover the bodies of deceased elephants with leaves and vegetation, creating a form of partial burial. They have also been observed returning to visit these burial sites later.

Recently, Asian elephants were observed performing a similar ritual. Researchers in India found five elephant calves that had been partially buried on their backs in drainage ditches. Unlike African elephants, which visit burial sites, the Asian elephants avoided the area. Researchers believe the dead calves had been carried to the ditches by members of the herd and placed there.

Beyond burying and mourning calves, elephants also observe the death of a matriarch. In 2003, scientists observed a parade of elephants seemingly paying their respects to a dead female elephant. Some of the elephant families that visited were not even related to the deceased elephant.

2. Rats

Rats have a bad reputation. Because rats can carry diseases harmful to humans and have adapted well to urban life, they are often viewed as dirty pests. As it turns out, scientists think rats may not have been the primary cause of the black plague. Instead, it may have been fleas and lice living on humans that primarily transmitted the disease.

Rats are actually very intelligent creatures with complex social bonds. In fact, animal experts recommend never keeping a single rat as a pet, but instead having at least a pair or more for companionship. When a rat kept as a pet dies, anecdotally, people report having seen the remaining rat burying the carcass in its substrate. Research supports this. Experts believe rats do this instinctively to keep predators, drawn by the smell of decay, away from their nest.

3. Ants

As social insects, ants live in large colonies of highly organized societies. The members work together for the common good of the whole colony. Each ant has a specific role within the group. Although it was long believed that insects cannot feel pain or emotions, recent research has uncovered some remarkable behaviors. Ants will bite off the leg of an injured nestmate to help it survive.

Whether this behavior is motivated by empathy or another reason remains open to debate. However, we do know ants perform death rituals by burying their dead. Ants have been observed removing dead bodies and carrying them to special chambers—like a graveyard—in the nest, or, in some instances, burying them. This behavior helps the colony survive by reducing the risk of disease spread.

4. Termites

Termites, like ants and bees, are social insects living together and working for a common goal. They have a queen and workers, each with specialized jobs. Like other colony insects, termites have undertakers that remove the dead from their nests almost immediately to prevent the spread of pathogens.

Scientists have found that termites will either eat a corpse or bury it. A study found fresher corpses were more likely to be eaten, while bodies that had decomposed were carried off and buried. The undertakers play an important role in keeping the colony healthy. If termites left dead bodies to rot in their colonies, they would quickly be overrun with disease.

Other Animals That Hold Death Rituals

The following animals don’t bury their dead, but they do perform death rituals that appear to stem either from grief or, in the case of insects, keeping their nest free of pathogens and disease. The following are some examples of animals that, although their rituals differ from those of humans, appear to hold some form of death ritual.

5. Bees

Bees don’t bury their dead, but they do deal with dead nestmates almost immediately. Like other social insects, bees have workers who act as undertakers, removing dead bees from the hive. This effectively gets rid of a potential source of disease that could spread to other members.

The undertakers don’t actually bury the carcasses. They do, however, touch the dead bees with their antennae first, then pick them up in their jaws and fly them away from the nest. Honey bees shift from different jobs as they age. Researchers found that the undertaker bees were middle-aged and made up about 1 to 2% of the hive members.

6. Crows

Crows are fascinating birds. The more we learn about them, the more fascinating they become. Although crows are not among the animal species that bury their dead, they do hold a sort of “funeral” for a fellow dead crow.

Crows gather in large numbers around a newly dead crow, calling out and signaling to others in the area to join them. To human observers, this may appear similar to a funeral, with apparent crying and mourning. However, scientists think something different is going on. Crows investigate the dead crow and warn others to do the same, to learn what threat killed the bird and how to avoid the same fate.

7. Apes and Monkeys

We are closely related to non-human primates, sharing 96% DNA with our most distant relative and nearly 99% with chimpanzees. It’s no wonder, then, that we may see primates exhibiting similar emotions to humans when they lose a family member or friend.

While non-human primates do not bury their dead, they do engage in death-related rituals. Gorillas have been observed showing signs of distress following the death of a group member. Pack members may gather around the dead body, grooming and interacting with it. Mother chimpanzees are known to carry their dead babies around with them, continuing to groom them for months after their death.

8. Whales and Dolphins

Both whales and dolphins have been observed interacting with the body of a dead group member. Captive dolphins have been reported as lying lethargically on the bottom of the pool following the death of a companion. Dolphin mothers and some whale species are known to carry their dead calves on their backs for hours or even days.

Scientists have observed adult dolphins in the wild guarding the bodies of other dead adult dolphins. Orcas appear to hold a type of funeral for dead calves, taking turns carrying the body until they release it back into the ocean. Similar to elephants, which nudge a dead group member with their trunks, dolphins have been seen nudging and pushing a dolphin carcass with their heads and beaks.

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