Do you think animals intentionally commit suicide?

Post Reply New Topic

My aunt and uncle went out to Montana for the 4th of July to be with my parents and my uncles and my mom's brother and his girlfriend (not that kind of girlfriend, just friend). They brought their dog with who is 17 and is blind and deaf and has cancer. At my parents lake house, she walked onto the dock and fell into the water and drowned. My dad thinks she killed herself because she felt she was ready to pass away.

I tried looking it up online and it seems like people debate over it about rather they do or not.

If they can self-mutilate they can kill themselves. Cats and dogs will intentionally isolate from their caregivers when their number is up.

I think that all species of animals are as likely to commit suicide as humans are.

I have doubts that animals will intentionally commit suicide - they probably have no concept of suicide or that they could end their own lives by doing a certain action. However, it seems that many animals sense when they are very sick and will remove themselves from their family but that is a different issue.

It seems plausible that there is a correlation between an animal being sick and the animal performing actions which lead to its death.

I mean, I don't think that they really understand what they are doing, but if any animal is in great pain or discomfort, it is bound to act more erratically, and therefore more dangerously.

I know an incident where this happened. During the 90s there were constant fires througout borneo that destroyed tonnes of forest and the inhabitants. During a particular fire there were flames circling a tree, there was a young male orangutan on top of that tree, he had nowhere to escape. He screamed and jumped, not fell, jumped. It is safe to assume that he knew it was hopeless.
Nothing with the will to survive would jump right into the thing threatening their life.

I know they pout and get upset and will not eat. And elephant graveyards and whale beachings suggest they have some concept of life and death.

any animal, no.

some animals yes.

I heard that cattle have been known to attempt suicide when kept in a box where they can't even turn around for long periods of time.

I think its more instinct that they isolate when they're about to die but i've never seen or heard of an animal that commited suicide, but then again if they stop eating its over pretty soon, but that makes me wonder if they choose to do that or not, i know from my own cats that they're pretty smart, so i wont underestimate them xD

Dolphins can commit suicide, they simply stop breathing.

I've heard some vets say that cats do. Sometimes when their owners die or leave them, they stop eating, drinking or moving completely and even vets and IVs can't help them.

I've heard that too but I think it's because the cats get depressed due to missing their owners instead of them actually wanting to starve themselves to death