Why Do Animals Experience Grief?

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I don’t think it’s all animals that experience grief or sadness. I think it’s mostly, or only, social animals in the higher orders. Maybe it has a bonding effect for the group or individuals. Those bonds can help keep a group stronger. Just my thoughts.
 
Ive heard stories of rabbits, Guinea pigs and even pet rats moping and being off their feed after the death of their cage-mate.

I agree with the above poster—the benefits of bonding outweigh the negative effects of grief
 
Social animals probably have a keen sense of what others are thinking. This understanding of the mind of others is necessary for cooperation and survival. When they see another suffer, they can imagine what it is like. When they see another die, they may realize that they too will die.
 
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I see it even with my cats who aren’t supposed to be social animals, especially with other cats. They are however are brothers and have grow up together. They are also very social with people. The point to this being that if one of them is meowing in distress, the other will come and try to comfort the first one. It might mean meowing back or getting physically close.
Beryllos said:
When they see another suffer, they can imagine what it is like. When they see another die, they may realize that they too will die.
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I wonder about that. I know Elephants have be observed in the wild routinely visiting the bones of their relatives and even manipulating them. I think some people spend too much time thinking humans are above creation, we share so much with other creatures. There’s a chance too that some animals are just as smart as us, but the lack of hands and exceptionally advanced communications skills that gives us a decisive advantage in our world.
 
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Because they have a neuromotor complex that is required by their physiology. And as such it has receptors for light, sound, smell, tact, etc.

Same as for us humans a very bright light can be painful so is for the animals. The same can be said about loud noises, extreme heat or cold.
What they do not have is the use of reason not to be confused with “intelligence”.
Animals can solve a puzzle but they cannot fathom abstractions.
They can also have some learned conditioning which Pavlov proved many moons ago.
 
I agree but why would animals like Magpies prefrom “funeral rites” or a whale holding on too its dead calf, it seems like those things are purley human
 
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JerryZ said:
What they do not have is the use of reason not to be confused with “intelligence”.
Animals can solve a puzzle but they cannot fathom abstractions.
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How do you know?

Social animals have so much in common with humans that I wonder what is so special about us. Reason and abstraction seem too closely tied to brain function. I suspect the only thing that sets humans apart from animals is that we can fathom God, though only to a very limited extent. We can contemplate the love of God, and we can love God in return, again in a very imperfect way. I think that is the breath of God, the image and likeness, that places us above other animals
 
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Elephants cry. Pigs have the intelligence of a 4yo. And so on. There is a species of bird that when its mate dies, it will die within a very short time too. It won’t leave its dead mate. And will just curl up and die.
 
I think animals experience grief because we are all a part of a fallen creation. Scripture says that all of creation groans waiting for God’s Sons to be revealed; because then death and sadness will be done away with and all of creation will live as it was meant to live–in joy and with the presence of The Creator living with all of His creation.
 
In my 60 years of dog ownership, companionship, and love, I have often wondered what goes on inside that little head of theirs.

Rather than overthink it, I simply see them as a gift to us through the creative endeavors of a loving God, and treat them with all the compassion they are worthy of.
 
What about the proof we have of animals dying before the fall?, ie dinos
 
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