Do/can animals comit suicide ?

[The 777 Hoax]

My dog ran into a car while it was moving once, but I doubt he was trying to kill himself.

 

[warpus]

I clearly remember reading an article a couple years ago about scientists being baffled when they discovered that a large group of animals (seals?) walked of the edge of a cliff - one by one.

 

[carlosMM]

Coprophagia can't cause death. Animals eat crap all the time (we discussed this in another thread).

This is simply false.

 

[Tycoon101]

I don't believe that animals can CONSIOUSLY commit suicide. They can accidentally kill themselves or do things out of instinct, but only humans understand death and know what it truly means.

Animals kill out of instinct NOT by suicidal impulses. Humans know what death is, not animals.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

This is simply false.

*sigh* I'm to bored to dig up the old thread - instead, read this. Probably if an animal eats crap it's whole life it would die because of lack of nutrients not found in that "type" of crap.

 

[The Last Conformist]

I don't believe that animals can CONSIOUSLY commit suicide. They can accidentally kill themselves or do things out of instinct, but only humans understand death and know what it truly means.

Animals kill out of instinct NOT by suicidal impulses. Humans know what death is, not animals.

Evidence for this being?

 

[carlosMM]

*sigh* I'm to bored to dig up the old thread - instead, read this. Probably if an animal eats crap it's whole life it would die because of lack of nutrients not found in that "type" of crap.

*sigh*

it don't matter whether eating crap is deathly eahc and every time, buddy.
if you had a little knowledge about great apoes in captivity you'd not whine around here about some old thread..

 

[Red Stranger]

Salmon, they know they're going to die swimming upstream, but they do it anyways.

 

[Tycoon101]

Evidence for this being?

I just believe this as a matter of religeous faith. God does not say this, but it is inferred that humans are a much higher level set of being than other animals. They don't have souls, thus they do not know death.
Original sin is the knowing of death. Humans commit suicide not animals.

 

[GenMarshall]

Lemmings do pop into mind.

Though they are nature's retards (quote from Robot Chicken on Adult Swim) .

 

[punkbass2000]

Chickens have been known to peck themselves to death when kept in very small cages.

 

[Bluemofia]

I don't believe that animals can CONSIOUSLY commit suicide. They can accidentally kill themselves or do things out of instinct, but only humans understand death and know what it truly means.

Animals kill out of instinct NOT by suicidal impulses. Humans know what death is, not animals.

I just believe this as a matter of religeous faith. God does not say this, but it is inferred that humans are a much higher level set of being than other animals. They don't have souls, thus they do not know death.
Original sin is the knowing of death. Humans commit suicide not animals.

Ah... Bringing religion into even this? Where in the Bible does it say that animals don't have souls?

Animals do know what death is. They can tell the difference between living and dead things, trust me.

I have goldfish that would avoid a fish if it's dead, but only until it actually dies, because they are fine with it until the very end. Even if it fakes going belly up for fun at times. So explain why they would avoid it once it actually dies, rather than when it fake dies?

And how about bears that refuse to eat dead things, hence the play dead approach? They have to know the difference between life and death.

 

[Tycoon101]

Bleh I'm horrid at arguments. I'm a lunatic. I'm quite probably an animal.

I'm not here, don't look at me

 

[The Last Conformist]

Chickens have been known to peck themselves to death when kept in very small cages.

Really? You're not thinking of chickens pecking one another to death, are you?

 

[ChrTh]

Salmon, they know they're going to die swimming upstream, but they do it anyways.

Do they know? How would that be communicated to them?

I don't think any death-by-mating should be considered suicide in the sense the thread-starter meant. Many creatures reproduce then die.

 

[punkbass2000]

Well, I'm no expert and can't easily give proof, but I've heard it a number of times. I'll look into it in a bit. I know I read it when I was vegan. I have to go out for now, but suspect I read it at http://www.whyvegan.com , if they're still around.

 

[punkbass2000]

Actually, I did decide to look into, and you're right, they peck each other to death not themselves. My mistake.

 

[Bluemofia]

Salmon, they know they're going to die swimming upstream, but they do it anyways.

They do it instinctivly, as in, return to their birth-stream in a sense to mate, and lay eggs. Then die. Not quite suicide, because they are doing this instinctivly.

Animals are obsessed with sex too.

 

[Sparta]

I've heard that sometimes turkeys will look up with their beak open when it's raining and drown.

Supposedly, this isn't necessarily true. Apparently it is more likely that the young chicks, who are covered with down rather than feathers, are just very vulnerable to bad weather, and often die from exposure after a long and/or cold rain (particularly in captivity, when the mother has less control over finding shelter for them, and may not even be around anymore). From this arose the tale that they were looking up and drowning, since numbers of them would be found dead or dying after rain storms.

link

 

[Heretic_Cata]

I don't think any death-by-mating should be considered suicide in the sense the thread-starter meant. Many creatures reproduce then die.

I remember an experiment related to this.
They introduced a labrat in a cage and he could choose between 2 despensers. He was first show the one that gave food. Then he was shown the other that gave him some substance that sexualy satisfied him. After he used each dispenser once he was let free in the cage. Can you guess what he chose ?
He only stayed at the second dispensor completley neglecting the one that gave the food. So he died of starvation ... but at least he died happy.

So that does not really count as suicide.