I don’t mean that tripe about lemmings either; I talking I’m-so-sad-I-can’t-eat-my-carrion depression that ends with a little furry head on a railroad track. Or is suicide unique to the human species, demonstrating the superiority of a large cranium?
TT
“It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.”
–James Thurber
humans think and overantalize too much, hence, suicide. my WAG.
I am sofa king, we todded.
and if you trust my spelling… ants are VERY unstable.
Humans are the only animals stupid enough to take their own lives. I think it should be illegal to kill yourself(to protect children). But if you want to cut your throat, go to Japan, Canada, or 50 miles off the coast of Florida, cut your leg, and jump in the water. The sharks will do the rest.
any comments on this: upstatic@hotmail.com
R.J.D.
I don’t doubt many animals sacrifice themselves. Actually killing themselves out of depression, though, probably requires a certain higher level of cognition.
But I really shouldn’t get that controversy started.
Ever heard of a dog or cat who gets so depressed after its’ owner passes away that it refuses to eat and dies shortly afterwards?
I don’t know if that would count as suicide in the first degree. Probably more like negligent suicide.
Actually I heard that about dogs, but that cats would eat their owner if they had to.
this from the current issue of bizarre mag, taken without permission…
“lovesick bird’s swansong
this unfortunate swan is believed to have committed suicide after his partner was electrocuted in front of him. ake and inger sandberg, of the lake side town of sangis in northern sweden, discovered the bird in the early hours of 30 october 1999. the previous night, there had been a thunderstorm which had cut out their electricity for about a minute. at the time, ake and his neighbours heard a swan crying out. the next day it became apparent why. out on the lake, a dead swan lay on the ice, having been electrocuted by the malfunctioning power cable. her partner hung from the branches of a birch tree outside the sandberg home…”
all spelling errors mine
a picture is alongside. a dead swan on the lake, and a swan hanging by its neck from a tree, wedged between 2 branches. i’d scan em, but won’t.
Just a note to those who aren’t aware of this fact:
Lemmings don’t commit suicide. This was just something Disney made up for a nature documentary a long time ago. The lemmings they showed hurtling off cliffs were thrown! The image stuck in the popular consciousness, and now is regarded as gospel in many circles. And that, my friends, is what Cecil is for.
An infinite number of rednecks in an infinite number of pickup trucks shooting an infinite number of shotguns at an infinite number of road signs will eventually produce all the world’s great works of literature in Braille.
After the brood is hatched Mother Black-Widow spiders sacrifice themselves to their kids as a final meal.
And I bet you thought only the male made the sacrifice for a little sex.
I remember reading before of scorpions who were put into an unescapable situation such as a ring of fire and responded by stabbing themselves repeatedly in the joint 'twixt their head and body. Whether this was an act of suicide or just some bizarre nerve impulses firing leading to spasms is for you to decide.
“I guess one person can make a difference, although most of the time they probably shouldn’t.”
I think my computer has gotten extremely depressed by all this and is asking me for assistance in its suicide.
. .___
. |x x|
. |^|
,–‘U’–,
‘-------’
. R.I.P.
Ray (Does it also work the other way around. . .only more slowly?)
I’m wondering if those whales who beach themselves might be considered instances of animal suicide?
I have heard this, but fail to comprehend. Why in the wonderful world of Walt’s would he and his merry men be bothered with chasing or tossing stupid lemmings off a cliff? I fail to see any logic in this at all, capt’n! Also, out of all the crazy things to be remembered from ALL the nature shows done by Disney, why would this have stuck in people’s minds so tenciously to the point where it has become a cliche? Do we humans kinda identify with this image? 
Isn’t it just possible there could be some truth about the behavior of lemmings? We need a lemmings expert! (Maybe the parallel between people following like sheep is just a myth, too? Maybe sheep do not follow blindly afterall?)
Maybe someone can enlighten me further.
“They’re coming to take me away ha-ha, ho-ho, hee-hee, to the funny farm where life is beautiful all the time… :)” - Napoleon IV
This is similar to the example of a dog refusing to eat after its owner died, but a while ago I watched a documentary on gorillas (God bless the Discovery channel!). An elderly female had a son, and she died of a heart attack when he was three years old.
The son stayed next to her body, refusing to eat or drink. The rest of the troupe tried to coax him away, and brought him food, but he ignored them all, and finally the rest moved on. He died a few days later. I think that’s pretty close to suicide, even if of a kinda passive variety. Pretty sad.
“It says, I choo-choo-choose you. And it’s got a picture of a train.”
– Ralph Wiggum
I have seen reports of monkeys in captivity injuring themselves. Apparently some will get bored/depressed and bite themselves. These wounds can result in death if appropriate treatment is not provided. Not really what I would call suicide, but I would consider it a self inflicted injury resulting from psychological distress.
“Maybe the parallel between people following like sheep is just a myth, too? Maybe sheep do not follow blindly afterall?)”
I got my BS in animal science. I have had occasion to see the workings of a sheep farm up close. (no wise cracks) It always looked to me like they would follow blindly once one or two would start moving in a particular direction.
This made it easy for the shepherd to get the herd where she wanted it. Even if it was the slaughter house.
John
Then he got up on top
With a tip of his hat.
“I call this game FUN-IN- A-BOX”
Said the cat.
-The Cat in the Hat
I agree. We should put the casket right in the courtroom and try them like the crimminals they are. But what would the punishment be? Life?
“If I had to live your life, I’d be begging to have someone pop out both my eyes. Just in case I came across a mirror.” - android209 (in the Pit)
Zettecity
Voted “Most Empathetic”- can you believe that?
Actually, there are several documented instances of dogs eating their owner’s corpses. I read one particularly nasty account where a police broke into the home of an old man who hadn’t been seen for several days. The guy probably died of a heart attack. By the time he was found, his dog had eaten most of the man’s head. Bits of bone and hair were found all over the house. So I wouldn’t count on Fido pining away over your body.
As for the lemming suicide thing, Disney’s side of the story was that they hired this Canadian guy to shoot the documentary for them, and he scammed them. Apparently, he paid some Inuit children to round up a bunch of lemmings for him. He then stuck them on a turntable of some kind, and let centrifugal force fling the lemmings off. The camera was attached to the turntabe, so you donn’t notice the rotation in the film. A few more were lemmings thrown around by hand for good measure. If you want to know more about this guy, I’m sure he’s on the ASPCA’s Ten Most Wanted List :D.
–It was recently discovered that research causes cancer in rats.
The whole Disney, Lemmings rumor is true. Check this out: