Do animals other than humans consider suicide?

Question

I know a bit of a horrible question but it just popped into my head

Answer 1

Probably yes. I get loads of birds flying into my kitchen window. What a way to go ?

Answer 2

Lemmings in Northern Norway do,
(A lemming is much akin to a small hamster).
When the flock gets to overcrowded they all head for a river and drown.
Its believed that Because of poor vision the lemmings actually think the water or the cliff face are other pastures ,if they really had suicidal thoughts is a matter for debate.
All the same it appears as mass suicide.

Answer 3

the whole suicidal lemming thing is a myth... and birds dont intentionally fly into windows to kill themself.. they either see reflections of trees or think its open space..
a hamster that jumps off a ledge isnt smart enough to realize that he is going to die... you will note they try to hang on at the last second.

nobody is sure if whales are commiting suicide or not, I suspect on some level they just may be lost or disoriented becuase of all the sounds from large boats (sound travels better in water)

most animals value their lives as much as we do.. the problem with humans is we are too developed for our own good and ultimately too self absorbed to think beyond ourselves which is why we get suicidal thoughts (which I admit to having had myself)

Answer 4

Animals do commit suicide under certain circumstances. Injured and ill animals are known to commit suicide to end their suffering sooner. Some social insects also have sterile "workers" who may commit suicide in order to defend the home (for example termites explode their bodies so that the enemy gets stuck in the sticky guts).

Answer 5

There was a story on telly last week about a bridge in Scotland where dogs had jumped over the bridge and died, it happened to quite a few dogs, unexplained too. strange!!

I guess animals get depressed too, especially the way some humans treat the poor things ! (I love my dog & cat) they are both well looked after and tell me they are not wanting to commit suicide.

Answer 6

There have been some creatures, that have been thought to be capable of this, -Lemmings, Dolphins, etc. The most famous myth is probably the Scorpion - that it would sting itself to death if surrounded by fire.

Even cows lined up for slaughter at an abbatoir, only sense death seconds before the event.

Humans are alone, in having the ability to contemplate suicide.

Answer 7

Your answer deems that other animals have a consciousness. Which, so far, we have been unable to prove. Putting that aside, Lemmings, when they reach a critical mass in their population suddenly choose to migrate into large expanses of water, usually off cliffs. There is even a game based on it, which I used to play ages ago which I still like based upon the tendencies of the Lemming. Well worth downloading and playing if you like puzzle type games.

Answer 8

The only possibility with animals committing suicide is whales beaching themselves and lemmings running over a cliff. We still don't know why whales and lemmings do this. Maybe it is depression.

Answer 9

No idea. However, i think the animal jumping off a cliff edge issue is more to do with their perception of space, height and distance. Possibly even with whales beaching if they're already ill the chances are they won't have the ability to detect space the way they usually do because they're senses are confused.

Answer 10

its not a horrible question but its bizarre because people cant verbally receive an answer from an animal about such a thing. I will say though that some animals do become depressed and stop eating, or drinking water.

Answer 11

whales, scorpions will sting themselves if trapped, parrots mate for life and swans do - but I don't think they make a conscious effort to die. After a particularly horrible experiment a young chimpanzee gave up eating and drinking, and depression took over and he died. Other animals all have strong survival instincts that take over whatever circumstances they are in.