ANIMAL GRIEF
Proofofdeath
Withinthestudyofhumangrief,thereisa
conceptknownasambiguousloss.Coined
byclinicalpsychologistPaulineBoss,
it referstothelossofa personwithout
certaintyorresolution– whena deathhas
occurredbutthebodyhasnotbeenseen.
Bosssuggeststhathumansmayneedto
seeevidenceofthetransitionfromlife to
deathinordertoobtainclosure.
Couldthisbetrueofotherspecies?
Keepersofcaptiveanimalsmayneedto
considerthis,asit couldbeconsidered
crueltodeprivethemoftheirnaturalgrief
reactionsbypreventingthem from
interactingwitha dead
bodyastheywouldin
thewild.In2015,a
femalegorillaat
atFrankfurtZoo
carriedher
deadbabyfor
fourdays,as
zookeepers
wantedto
“letnature
takeits
course”.
Elephantshavebeen
seengatheringaround
thebodiesofdead
familymembers.Below:
a maleBurchell’szebra
tugsattheheadofa
femalethatdiedwhile
givingbirth,asthough
trying to wake her.Animalsin
zoosmay
needclosure
after a death.
BBC Wildlife 47