# Do animals know they are going to die someday?



## soshisarang

This is kind of a stupid question, i know. 

So basically my question is do animals know about life and death? Do they know they will one day die? I don't mean like a mouse knows its in danger when its being chased by a cat so it will run and hide. I think its obvious animals know when they're in danger but i'm not sure if it knows that their life is at stake.

I've also heard stories about people's dogs hiding from them and being distant when they're nearing the end of their life but i don't think that's a sign the dog knows it will die. Aren't they just hiding because its their natural instinct to hide from predators when they are sick or injured?


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## Mammagamma

The way we do, I don't think so. But they sure know other animals die, so they must be familiar with death somehow.


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## LemonBones

Dogs do right before they pass, that's why they go to a quiet place and want to be alone to die. Happened with my dog.


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## Drakejr

We don't even know how human consciousness works, let alone animals. Still, there's been some studies that show that some animals like dogs, chimps and elephants seem to be aware of themselves and understand that death is a state, at least to a certain point.


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## soshisarang

Drakejr said:


> We don't even know how human consciousness works, let alone animals. Still, there's been some studies that show that some animals like dogs, chimps and elephants seem to be aware of themselves and understand that death is a state, at least to a certain point.


Hmm. It's really interesting to think about. I mean there's just so much about our minds and animal's minds that we've still yet to discover! :smile2:


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## AussiePea

All animals witness death, but whether they put 2 and 2 together....


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## Paper Samurai

Nope, we as humans are the only 'animals' with the concept of our own mortality. Other Animals only understand life and death in relation to other things around it.


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## NeverOddOrEven

It's not a stupid question at all, in fact, scientists are still learning about this. 

Not all animals witness death. And regardless, witnessing death doesn't necessarily make them aware of their own mortality. Maybe they become aware of it when the moment comes. I hope they don't know.


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## WillYouStopDave

soshisarang said:


> This is kind of a stupid question, i know.
> 
> So basically my question is do animals know about life and death? Do they know they will one day die? I don't mean like a mouse knows its in danger when its being chased by a cat so it will run and hide. I think its obvious animals know when they're in danger but i'm not sure if it knows that their life is at stake.
> 
> I've also heard stories about people's dogs hiding from them and being distant when they're nearing the end of their life but i don't think that's a sign the dog knows it will die. Aren't they just hiding because its their natural instinct to hide from predators when they are sick or injured?


 Post a pic of an animal when it knows something.


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## soshisarang

WillYouStopDave said:


> Post a pic of an animal when it knows something.


I don't understand...

I mean it's only an assumption that an animal knows something. 
We can only assume what they're thinking through how they behave since they can't talk. I guess you could assume a lion knows to crouch and be sneaky when it's trying to catch it's prey.

But what do i know! I'm not an animal behaviour expert! lol :wink2:


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## WillYouStopDave

soshisarang said:


> I don't understand...


 Here is a picture of a dog that knows.


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## mastercowboy




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## WrongDoers

Hold on, let me go ask the dog. :wink2:

I think it's possible some of the more intelligent animal species are aware of their own mortality. For example, elephants often mourn their dead. They appear to be aware that the condition of their fallen comrades is absolute, and this saddens them. Is it possible they can make the connection between the death of another elephant and project it onto themselves and be aware that they too will die someday? That their own existence has an expiry date? I think so, but unless we find a way to communicate more intimately with animals, I doubt we'll ever know for sure.


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## dune87

i think they're too busy for that.


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## Q003

Kyama3 said:


> Dogs do right before they pass, that's why they go to a quiet place and want to be alone to die. Happened with my dog.


rabbits too


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## unemployment simulator

dune87 said:


> i think they're too busy for that.


too many balls to lick and buttholes to sniff.


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## Ominous Indeed

Kyama3 said:


> Dogs do right before they pass, that's why they go to a quiet place and want to be alone to die. Happened with my dog.


I doubt that has anything to do with death itself. When you are tired/sick even you go find a quiet place to rest.


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## McFly

Drakejr said:


> We don't even know how human consciousness works, let alone animals. Still, there's been some studies that show that some animals like dogs, chimps and elephants seem to be aware of themselves and understand that death is a state, at least to a certain point.


Yeah, apes, elephants and dolphins which are species close to humans seem to understand that death is negative transitional state. They show grief and mourn when a member passes.


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## roxybudgy

Animals general avoid injury/death, so I would say that on some level, they see death as a bad thing.

But if you are asking if healthy animals are aware that they will someday die of disease/old age, even if they manage to evade all danger/predators, then that seems less likely. Some people mentioned dogs wanting to be alone when they are on a terminal decline, but did the dog know that it was going to die while it was still healthy? Or do they only know when they get sick and start to deteriorate?


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## Cletis

When an animal is dying it will often seek out a quiet place where it can be alone and lay down and die.


As far as having a concept of death, I doubt they really know much about it. It's all instinct.


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## unemployment simulator

Cletis said:


> When an animal is dying it will often seek out a quiet place where it can be alone and lay down and die.
> 
> As far as having a concept of death, I doubt they really know much about it. It's all instinct.


yea I have heard about this, when pets have got old they seem to want to be alone a lot or suddenly go outside. presumably to die as they are never seen again. how they _know_ this though has always been a bit of a mystery to me, I mean what is it? is it like you are feeling ill all over and then its a logical deduction that your body is failing and its going to shut down? do people have this same feeling? is it intuition? some sort of sixth sense thing?


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## Karaleigh

soshisarang said:


> I've also heard stories about people's dogs hiding from them and being distant when they're nearing the end of their life but i don't think that's a sign the dog knows it will die. Aren't they just hiding because its their natural instinct to hide from predators when they are sick or injured?


Why do they hide from predators when sick/injured? Because they know that they are weak and therefore susceptible to further injury/death. I've always believed that animals aren't stupid, they have a level of awareness of the world around them, meaning that they are aware that death is a part of the cycle of life and other animals die around them. However, I'm not sure if they understand their own mortality. Basic instinct helps (predators/hunting etc), but they don't consciously know they are going to die.


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## Farideh

No they don't, but I calculated how many more years my dog is going to live. She's going to die when I'm in my mid 30s.  I'm already planning on getting another dog. I lost my first dog back in 2010. Came to our family when I was 5. Gone when I was 20. It wasn't easy losing a pet that was a part of my childhood.


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## Cletis

unemploymentsimulator2016 said:


> yea I have heard about this, when pets have got old they seem to want to be alone a lot or suddenly go outside. presumably to die as they are never seen again. how they _know_ this though has always been a bit of a mystery to me, I mean what is it? is it like you are feeling ill all over and then its a logical deduction that your body is failing and its going to shut down? do people have this same feeling? is it intuition? some sort of sixth sense thing?


I just think it's all instinct.


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## NeverOddOrEven

Farideh said:


> *No they don't*, but I calculated how many more years my dog is going to live. She's going to die when I'm in my mid 30s.  I'm already planning on getting another dog. I lost my first dog back in 2010. Came to our family when I was 5. Gone when I was 20. It wasn't easy losing a pet that was a part of my childhood.


You don't go into details much, do you? I'm sorry to hear about your dog.


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## BAH

Not until they see that figure with a sharp object


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## WillYouStopDave

Here is another dog that looks like he knows.....


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## visualkeirockstar

Of course. Most salmon knows they are going to die when they spawn.


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## naes

soshisarang said:


> This is kind of a stupid question, i know.
> 
> So basically my question is do animals know about life and death? Do they know they will one day die? I don't mean like a mouse knows its in danger when its being chased by a cat so it will run and hide. I think its obvious animals know when they're in danger but i'm not sure if it knows that their life is at stake.
> 
> I've also heard stories about people's dogs hiding from them and being distant when they're nearing the end of their life but i don't think that's a sign the dog knows it will die. Aren't they just hiding because its their natural instinct to hide from predators when they are sick or injured?


Well technically we are animals soooo....yes


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## Mr Fluff

Humans are typically in denial about their own mortality until they come face-to-face with death. So, even though we're told we are going to die one day, we tend to think it's something that happens to other people or to really old people. Maybe we aren't that much different than the rest of the animals on this planet.

**I used "we" not because I believe I speak for all humans, it's just that I read a bunch of studies a few years ago about this very topic and this was the general consensus among them about people's attitudes towards their own personal mortality.


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## kageri

Possibly some of the more intelligent animals mentioned. The ones that show real understanding when another dies like some of the larger sea mammals and apes. If you are talking your typical pet then no. They seem to have no concept of death. They don't even seem to get the idea when they are killing something or after something is dead. I raw feed my dogs and cats whole prey. They can't really connect a dead animal to a live animal of the same. They are 2 distinctly different things to them. They only learn to kill for food because instinct drives them to attack prey and they find they enjoy it. It's quite easy to raw feed even whole animals that you then train your dog not to harm in live form. If they can't understand that aspect of death I don't think they can understand their own potential death beyond danger=pain=bad.


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## Erroll

I suppose that there are humans who don't realize that they are going to die. 

In seems that in order to realize that one will die, two things are necessary.

1. It is necessary to know what death is by witnessing it, or being taught about it. And this knowledge has to be stored and maintained.

2. There has to be analogy making facility in the animal (or plant for that matter), whereby stored knowledge can be compared to self knowledge. 

I think all animals have the former, but only higher animal with sufficient experience in their memory have the latter. 

And plants, moving to catch the light or flexing limbs to avoid breakage, or clamping shut to catch and digest a fly, are just genetically bred action/reaction. Their consciousness would be rather dim, since they can not move around to get a variety of experience, and there is no evidence of plant memory.


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## hmnut

They should all know, I told them.


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