Which animals listed have been observed performing elaborate funeral and memorial rituals?

Animal behaviorists have studied and know that animals have rich emotional lives and even a rudimentary sense of right and wrong. Three examples include elephants, bluebirds and rodents.

Elephants have some of the most elaborate group funeral and memorial rituals of any animals. Elaborate elephant funeral rituals have been observed when a beloved member dies. Members have been observed “burying” the body with leaves and grass, and keeping vigil over the body for a week and then visiting the bones of the dead elephants for years to come as a memorial.

Other members of the animal kingdom that demonstrate rituals are the male bluebirds. when they are out foraging to provide for their mate’s nest, female birds may step out with another mate. Jealous males will beat their straying partners when they return, ripping out their feathers and snapping their beaks, according to a 1975 study detailed in the Journal ‘Science’.

One final example is the rodent called a rat. In a 1958 experiment, hungry rats that were only fed if they pulled a lever to shock their littermates refused to do so, suggesting that rodents have a sense of empathy and compassion for their fellows. Another study published in 2006 in the journal ‘Science” found that mice would grimace when their compatriots were in pain- but only if they knew the mouse personally.