# Do elephants really "mourn" their dead?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-elephants-really-mourn-their-dead/540056>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 19, 2010, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-elephants-really-mourn-their-dead/540056 "2010-05-19T21:41:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-elephants-really-mourn-their-dead/540056/21 "2010-05-22T16:01:21Z")

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Sounds like [Greyfriars Bobby](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyfriars_Bobby).

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**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-elephants-really-mourn-their-dead/540056/22 "2010-05-22T17:17:49Z")

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I don’t get it. Why is the idea of animals forming emotional attachments and grieving death so hard to accept? Elephants and dogs are social animals, like humans. Why should we imagine that the emotion of grief is the exclusive province of humans?

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**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-elephants-really-mourn-their-dead/540056/23 "2010-05-23T00:35:42Z")

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I guess the OP is a Cartesian?

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**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-elephants-really-mourn-their-dead/540056/24 "2010-05-23T00:55:52Z")

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> [@foolsguinea](#):
>
> I guess the OP is a Cartesian?

You think I am? No, I think I am not.

😉

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