A reflective post from John Hawks on grief in primates and early hominins. Chimp mothers have carried their dead infants for up to four months, a behavior seen in 40+ primate species. What might it tell us about how our ancestors grieved? #comparativethanatology #primatology

Dashti & Gonçalves propose an inclusive definition of grief across species: a response to the disruption of significant social bonds, built on a deeply conserved attachment system and its nonapeptide toolkit. Full paper here: doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2025.0147
#comparativethanatology #animalgrief

Jett & Yang find dead honey bees trapped on milkweed cut visits by 37%, most strongly by honey bees. 91% of the effect was direct aversion to dead conspecifics, possibly to avoid predation or disease. Access here: doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70452 #comparativethanatology #necrophobia

8 new papers on animal responses to death added to the yearly publication thread!
#comparativethanatology

Bowers et al. filmed the bones of a long-dead bull elephant in Kenya for 3.5 months: 34 visits, often with thanatological interactions such as touching and sniffing, 85% by lone males or bachelor groups. Access here: doi.org/10.1111/aje.70211 #comparativethanatology #evolutionarythanatology

Dembitzer & Ben-Ami propose the funeral hypothesis: corpses hold information, and gatherings around them become information centers where knowledge of threats spreads, offsetting their costs. Access here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
#comparativethanatology #evolutionarythanatology

Mota-Rojas et al. review emotional pain in non-human mammals, from amygdala, anterior cingulate, and opioid circuitry to grief-like behaviors, dysthymia-like states, and Takotsubo syndrome.
Link: www.frontiersin.org/journals/vet...
#comparativethanatology #animalgrief

Arnon & Wronski report an adult Indian crested porcupine carrying a juvenile's carcass 8 min after a golden jackal killed it. They favor mortuary behavior over cannibalistic scavenging or osteophagy. Full paper here: doi.org/10.1163/1568539X-bja10376
#comparativethanatology #mortuarybehavior

Kucheravy et al. used a drone to film a female killer whale in the Canadian Arctic carrying her dead calf. Past reports are mostly from the NE Pacific, suggesting the behavior is species-wide. Full paper here: link.springer.com/content/pdf/...
#comparativethanatology #epimeleticbehavior

Vonk & Erck surveyed cat and dog caregivers after a human caregiver died or left. Both species ate, slept, and played less and searched more for the lost person, especially when closely bonded. Access here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#comparativethanatology #companionanimals

#EvoThan2026 happening now at UCL
#ComparativeThanatology
@evothan.bsky.social