Animal Feelings - UPDATE December 9, 2015
Bill - August 29, 2012
Bill - August 29, 2012
A Lily Fan was asking about bear feelings and bear reactions to the deaths of bears they know. It?s a topic of growing interest as people share observations on the social media. Dr. Marc Bekoff of the University of Colorado wrote about magpies and crows showing high interest in their fallen companions.`
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1221754/Magpies-grieve-dead-turn-funerals.html#ixzz1zE7QhnpIOne video showed magpies standing near a dead member of their flock and vocalizing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60Zg9sGnQf8 I wish we knew what they were saying.
A grad student at University of Washington is working with her professor to understand the gatherings of crows around dead crows.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK5f2V3G9fM.
Bill - August 29, 2012
Bill - August 29, 2012
We remember May 24, 2012 when 2-year-old Bill discovered the body of his 4-year-old half (or full) sister Jo who had been dead for about 3 days. Bill approached her body, sniffed it, and erupted in a flurry of friendly vocalizations like captive Ted makes toward people before he licks their faces. Bill tried to lift her head. He sniffed her all over, making the friendly, high-pitched sound. He tried to drag her, all the while making the friendly sound. Finally, he left her and walked away, looking back at her repeatedly before he disappeared. Two other males saw Jo?s body but paid no attention. It was obvious that Bill knew his sister and felt friendly toward her. I imagine they met and played together in their mother?s territory. His reactions were friendly, not so much grieving. He didn?t seem to understand why she was unresponsive. Maybe I?m not giving Bill enough credit. The photos of Bill were taken just 5 days after that incident.
We remember 5-year-old Juliet?s intense grunts of concern for her ailing cub Mimi in the summer of 2008 when Mimi died a few hours later as seen in the BBC documentary Bearwalker of the Northwoods.
We remember the joyous reunion of Hope and Lily on May 26, 2010 as seen in the BBC documentary My Bear Family and Me (with Gordon Buchanan). It was obvious that the reunion meant a lot to both of them, especially Hope, which makes us suspect what Hope had been feeling without her mother during the previous 5 days.
As Dr. Bekoff wrote, the only way to come to a more complete understanding of what birds and other animals can do and what they feel is to study free-ranging animals that can form natural social groups and are free to roam. The bears have shown us so much, but there is still much we have never seen.
It was fun being part of the podcast today at 1 PM.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
Author
Topic: Jewel and her cubs (Read 2401697 times)