How do animals react to the death of a conspecific or even their offspring? Do you even feel that they are dead? Biologists have now investigated this question among bear baboons in Namibia. They found that the baboon mothers carry their dead children with them for up to ten days – although their behavior shows that they know very well that these young animals are no longer alive. Nevertheless, they clean and protect them. One reason for this could be the close bond between mother and child.
When a loved one dies, we mourn and usually say goodbye with the help of comforting rituals like a funeral. But what about animals? Do you understand what death is? Do you even recognize that a conspecific has died? So far, this question has not been answered, although there are anecdotal observations that animals also seem to say goodbye to their dead in some way. For example, elephants spend longer with their dead peers and often touch them with their proboscis, as a recent study confirmed.
Do monkeys recognize death?
Monkeys and apes have also often been observed to have monkey mothers carrying their dead cubs with them. “There are many hypotheses with which one tries to explain the reaction of primates to their dead offspring,” says first author Alecia Carter from the University of Montpellier. Some suspect that the monkeys may not initially recognize that their children are dead, others assume that the child’s characteristics trigger maternal behavior even when the offspring are dead, or that hormones are responsible for this. However, it is also possible that the monkey mothers, like us humans, are capable of mourning and that their reaction to the dead depends on the intensity of social ties during their lifetime.
Carter and her colleagues have now investigated which of these hypotheses could apply to wild bear baboons (Papio ursinus) in Namibia. These baboons, which live in the dry desert areas of this region, have a complex social structure. In their groups, 20 to 100 animals live together in a social structure strongly shaped by male and female hierarchies. Despite a promiscuous mating, females can temporarily form closer “friendships” with the father of their current offspring. The researchers have observed the behavior of two baboon groups since 2000 and have now investigated in more detail how the baboon mothers behave when their young animals die.
Mothers carry dead children with them and protect them
It turned out that in the twelve deaths observed over time, the baboon mother continued to take care of it in most cases even after the young animal had died. In eight cases, the mothers carried the carcass around with them for at least one day – sometimes for up to ten days. In three cases, the dead young animal was also carried by other members of the group. “The baboon mothers and unrelated conspecifics were also observed to clean the dead young animals,” report Carter and her colleagues. Even some of the baboons’ male “friends” groomed the carcass and even defended it against other baboons. “This is surprising because you have never seen this in previous studies,” says Carter’s colleague Elise Huchard.
But what does this behavior say about the baboons’ attitude towards death? Do you really not realize that this monkey boy is dead? According to the researchers, this is rather unlikely. Because, as they observed, the mothers treated the carcasses significantly differently than live young animals. For example, they sometimes pulled them behind them on one arm or leg. “We have never observed such behavior in our bear baboons towards live young animals,” said Carter and her colleagues. In their view, the baboon mothers know very well that their cub has died, but are still unable to part with it immediately.
One of the reasons for this could be that the mother-child bond is so strong that it lasts at least for a while after death. “Once formed, this band is difficult to separate,” said Carter. “Why only a few mothers carry their dead children and protect them is, however, less clear.” Nor can it be said whether the baboon mothers feel grief – because this feeling cannot be proven solely on the basis of their behavior.
Source: University College London Technical article: Royal Society: Open Science, doi: 10.1098 / rsos.192206