It’s widely recognised that elephants mourn their dead, but what about other animals? It’s rather easy to fall into the trap of anthropomorphising, attributing our feelings and behaviours to them. Yet there are examples of what appear to be very human-like emotions, and we were once privileged to witness one.
Inspired by a recent moving post from Sam Hankss about an experience he had in Naminia’s Damaraland, I want to share a similar tale from Botswana. Incidentally, Sam’s site is a fantastic one for any wildlife lover, with wonderful stories and excellent photography. So do follow my link and check it out!
On an early morning safari drive one day during our stay in Chobe National Park, we saw a couple of black-backed jackals and some vultures picking over the last takings on a giraffe carcass. Seeing the occasional carcass is part of the safari experience. These animals live a natural life in the parks and of course die as they would in the wild, either from natural causes or a predator attack. And their remains provide sustenance for the carrion eaters in the food chain. So we took a few photos and moved on to the next sighting.
Later that day we went out on another drive, this time in the late afternoon These early morning / late afternoon drives are the norm on safari holidays and even if you cover much the same ground you see different things. Just like us, some animals are early risers while others prefer the fading light at the end of the day.
Towards the end of this drive, when the sun had just set, we came back to the giraffe carcass we had seen in the morning, again being picked over by jackals.
Nearby stood five giraffes (four young males and a female) and they seemed truly to understand that here was one of their own and to be mourning for him/her.
One went for a closer look while the others kept their distance. From time to time they rubbed necks with each other in what looked like a gesture of consolation. But that perhaps is anthropomorphising?
Our guide Vivian had never seen such behaviour in giraffes and was as fascinated as we were. Afterwards I did a Google search for examples of similar behaviour, and it does indeed seem to be rare. I found an article from 2012, which seems to have since disappeared from the web, which cited just three known examples:
In 2010 in Kenya’s Soysambu Conservancy, a female giraffe was observed spending four days beside the body of her one-month-old calf. Seventeen other female giraffes also surrounded the body over the four days.
In 2011, a female giraffe in Zambia spent two hours beside a stillborn calf. She splayed her legs to bend down — something giraffes rarely do, except to eat or drink — and licked the calf for several hours. This behaviour was repeated for the entire two hours — all the more notable, as giraffes rarely spend time alone.
Also in 2011, a herd of giraffes in Namibia was observed investigating the corpse of a young female giraffe that had died three weeks before. Some of the male giraffes splayed their legs and sniffed the ground.
More recently, in 2022, a wildlife blogger reported an incident very similar to the one we witnessed. There are a few other examples to be found if you search, but it is clearly quite rare behaviour, and most of those I found relate to a giraffe ‘mourning’ her own calf.
The giraffes seemed reluctant to leave, as were we. But it’s not permitted to be out in the park after dark, so we left them to their mourning. The experience had left us with conflicting emotions. We felt something of the (assumed) grief of the giraffes, but at the same time were excited to witness something so out of the ordinary. Certainly it was one of the most memorable highlights of our time in Chobe.
As it was so late in the day my photos were very flat, but I decided to play around and edit them in black and white. I used Nik Silver Efex Pro for the edits, with selenium toning and a soft white vignette. This also helps to moderate the somewhat disturbing impact of the carcass, which I know might upset some people. The exception is my feature photo, taken earlier in the afternoon in a different area of the national park.
I’m sharing this with Leanne’s Monochrome Madness as there is no set theme this week.
I visited Botswana in 2018
48 Comments
Anonymous
I do believe they were mourning and that many animals mourn loss. This was a post that moved me, Sarah.
Toonsarah
Yes, I do think many animals can feel loss in some way. This was moving to see but also fascinating.
Anonymous
Me again, Ruth Rosenfeld (rkrontheroad). I’ll sign in again next time~
equinoxio21
Quite unique. Not sure animals “understand” death though. (Do we humans actually do?) I’ve seen footage of animals nudging another dead one. Trying to “wake” them up maybe.
Great photos at any rate.
Why do you say they were “flat”?
Toonsarah
I don’t think they necessarily understand it as we do, but they know that something is wrong and that a relative or companion is no longer actively ‘with’ them. Yes, I’m sure sometimes they think they could just wake the dead animal up somehow, it’s a natural reaction.
It’s the lighting that’s flat in the photos. After sunset there are no contrasts between light and shade to bring out the details and give a sense of depth and perspective to an image. The mono conversions helped but the giraffes still have a tendency to look like 2D cardboard cut-outs!
equinoxio21
Agreed on both. I’ll have another look at some of my pix with that in mind. Thing is, I only recently realised that I don’t really “see” shadows. I sort of blank them out. Focussing on the rest. I need to think shadows before I see them.
Toonsarah
That’s interesting – do you mean you don’t see them at the point of taking a photo or more generally?
equinoxio21
I tend to visualise the entire… image or sight. With a focus point, the subject. Subject can be a colour, or an object or a person, or a building. Thing is I “capture” everything as a whole. Or I focus on a detail nobody has seen. It’s like I don’t “separate” the elements… It’s only later in my Photoshop “Darkroom”, that I sometimes an unseen detail. Like a shadow.
Not easy to explain. Maybe it’s because I learned Fast reading? I don’t read word by word, I focus on one or two point in a line or even a paragraph and read all the words at the same time… Very handy.
Sam Hankss
Wonderfully written as always Sarah!
Thank you so much for sharing, that is incredibly interesting behaviour to observe and something not seen very often.
Who knows the true insights of an animal’s mind, but just like the elephants, it appears that mourning was taking place and they were fully aware of what had happened. Extraordinary!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you so much Sam 😊 It’s especially interesting to hear your perspective given your own experiences as a guide.
Anne Sandler
What a beautiful post Sarah. I do believe animals mourn. At one point, in our house, we had two cockatiels and two dogs (one old and the other middle aged). The cockatiel’s mate died and so did our old dog. Soon the remaining cockatiel and dog would get together at the bottom of the bird’s cage and go beak to nose for minutes at a time. I do think they were consoling each other. And they say animals don’t have a soul.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anne 🙂 I’ve heard other people say that their pets mourn each other too. It may be different from how we experience loss but I’m sure they feel a gap in their lives, as they do if an owner dies.
Suzanne
Giraffes are gorgeous. I agree, that why wouldn’t animals grieve for their companions? I certainly that they do and many animals mate for life. Your edited images are wonderful, Sarah.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Suzanne, and a good point about those animals that mate for life – I believe they have been observed to apparently mourn the loss of that mate sometimes.
Jane Lurie
A riveting post, Sarah, and your choice to convert to monochrome emphasizes the melancholy nature of seeing this. How fascinating that the giraffes appear to be consoling and mourning- I believe they are. We saw hyenas at work at Chobe and it’s quite unforgettable.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Jane 😊 Seeing the full spectrum of life and death in the wild is one of the privileges of a safari trip, isn’t it?
bluebrightly
Wow, Sarah, such an interesting post. You were very lucky to witness that event. Having watched one particular elephant seal off and on for 3 years, I know how unexpected animal behaviors can be to us humans. I appreciate your care in not anthropomorphizing but at the same time, we need to have “big enough” minds to imagine that there can be what we call mourning in other species besides humans and elephants. It’s great that you researched it, too! There was an incident a few years ago with an Orca up here whose calf died shortly after birth. She carried the calf for 17 days in an apparent act of mourning. We’ll never know what they feel, but an experience like you had creates a certain kind of emotional resonance that ties us all together a little more securely. Thanks so much for posting about it – and your photos! Great choice to use black and white. Beautifully done – the selenium, soft focus, and lightened vignettes work really well.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Lynn for your thoughts and comments on the photo edits 🙂 That’s interesting (and sad) about the Orca, and I’ve heard similar stories about a number of species. I think what surprised our guide about this incident was that it wasn’t a mother mourning a child. I’m wondering now if it was the other way around, since these were young giraffes, and this could have been a parent? But I feel our guide would have mentioned that possibility at the time, as they would know the herds relatively well and certainly she was already aware of this carcass, it had been there a couple of weeks I believe.
bluebrightly
The questions linger, right? But that keeps us going, too.
Marilyn Armstrong
My question is always whether or not they are MORE human than whatever we have become.
Sarah Wilkie
A good question Marilyn!
Heyjude
I don’t see why animals can’t mourn. Humans don’t have all the answers. A well documented post Sarah. I like the edited photos.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Jude, I’m glad you feel the edits have worked. You’re right, we certainly can’t claim to have all the answers!
Monkey's Tale
So sad, but as you said it’s a natural part of life. So special to see the giraffes grieving. Thanks for sharing. Maggie
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Maggie – sad but natural, as you say
thehungrytravellers.blog
What an incredible thing to witness, Sarah. It must have been moving to watch, to say the least. A sad tale but you were privileged to witness it…and, as you say, it’s all part of the food chain and the natural world.
Sarah Wilkie
It was moving yes, and also a bit exciting to learn that it was such a rare sight. I’m sure you’ll see your own examples of ‘nature red in tooth and claw’ while on safari!
thehungrytravellers.blog
I do hope so!
Georgina
What an extraordinary experience and deeply moving. I think we worry too much about putting our human emotions on wild animals but you rightly approach this carefully. Rather turn it around, perhaps we have their emotions. Loss must certainly be felt by many animals as is fear. Your photographs in b/w really capture the mood and the gathering to witness the passing. I am not sure those giraffes will go away and reflect on their mortality as they probably have better things to do!
Sarah Wilkie
I’m sure you’re right Georgina. These animals may feel a sense of loss but I don’t think they make the leap to relate it to themselves in that way.
margaret21
What a moving account. And what a privilege to witness this behaviour. Perhaps though it’s commoner than people have previously thought? Only time will tell.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Margaret 🙂 You could be right about it being more common than we realise – maybe we just haven’t been looking closely enough?
margaret21
Well, I guess ‘we’ don’t get this chance. But the local workers probably have to spread themselves far too thinly to be everywhere at once.
Kathleen Jennette
Many think that just because they aren’t human, they don’t mourn. I believe many from the animal kingdom mourn including our own pets at home. They do miss and feel the emptiness and I think the mothers more than fathers. Very interesting photos and articles.
Sarah Wilkie
That’s a good point about pets Kathleen. Many dog and cat owners say that if one of their pets dies the others definitely appear to feel the loss.
Terri Webster Schrandt
Your images are so compelling and misted my eyes, Sarah. We know whales and elephants (big brained animals) mourn their dead. I’m not surprised to see giraffes exhibiting similar behavior. What an experience to see this with your own eyes. Anthropomorphic or not, our spirits are all connected and eventually rest in eternity.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Terri. There seem to be enough examples to suggest that even if not commonly observed, giraffes do experience some sense of loss when one of their herd dies.
Annie Berger
Sarah, I had chills reading your tale of the giraffes mourning the loss of their presumed loved one. What an incredibly moving and very rare experience you and your guide witnessed. I’m sure the memories still resonate with you to this day as the story feels so fresh. Were you able to relay your account to any authorities to augment stories of similar behaviors already reported?
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Annie 🙂 Yes, the memories are fresh but as with so many of my posts about older travels (pre-dating this blog) I had my previous TravellersPoint blog to draw on for this account. It would have been down to our guide to report this if appropriate to do so. This is a national park so all the guides are official ones and certainly record all sightings on each drive so the authorities can keep track of the animals within it. I would guess that since she was as intrigued by the behaviour as we were, she will have reported it for sure!
Teresa
That is a sad thing that you were able to observe. Thanks for sharing the examples regarding the giraffe. It must be the same instinct with animals as with us humans.
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, it seems so – with many animal species at least
Alison
Fascinating to watch Sarah but also quite sad
Sarah Wilkie
Exactly so ALison – conflicting emotions for sure
Leanne Cole
Wow Sarah, that is some post. Thank you for sharing it with us. Sometimes I think we humans take death too seriously and it is a part of life, but it so interesting to see other animals that grieve as well. I’m sure we see it but don’t realise it.
The spreading of their legs you were saying was unusual and only done for eating and drinking. I remember visiting a zoo we have here where they have tried to replicate the savannah and there are giraffes there. I was there one day and they were sitting on the ground and the woman showing us around said they never do that in the wild because it takes them too long to stand and that is dangerous.
I don’t think it matters if the photos are flat, they are more about emotions.
Great post Sarah.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Leanne, I’m pleased you found this so interesting 😊 Yes, giraffes normally splay their legs like that to reach the ground, and mostly for drinking as they tend to eat plants that grow high up (hence the evolution of those long necks). I knew they don’t usually sit but I have observed it in the wild. We did a helicopter flight over Victoria Falls and flew over some of the wildlife nearby, including one giraffe just getting up from the ground. You’re right, it’s a slow process! It may be that there are no predators around there?? You can see a photo in a slideshow near the bottom of this post: https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/lens-artists-challenge-120-what-a-treat/
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
Of course animals mours. No doubt about it. Sad!
Sarah Wilkie
Sad to observe but part of the cycle of life I guess
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
Natural, yes.