Smart and often sociable, whales forge tight bonds with one another. Now it’s clear that those bonds can be stronger than death itself. More than six species of the marine mammals have been seen clinging to the body of a dead compatriot, probably a podmate or relative, scientists say in a new study. The most likely explanation for the animals’ refusal to let go of the corpses: grief. According to biologists at the University of Milano-Bicocca in Italy, they are mourning. They are in pain and stressed. They know something is wrong. Scientists have found a growing number of species, from giraffes to chimps, that behave as if stricken with grief. Elephants, for example, return again and again to the body of a dead companion. Such findings add to the debate about whether animals feel emotion—and, if they do, how such emotions should influence human treatment of other creatures. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/07/whales-death-grief-animals-science/
