PurvaPatel

Writing39C(33358)
LyndaHaas
07May2015
LiteratureReviewofAnimalEmotionsandGriefinDolphins

Introduction
Peoplehavefixedideasabouttheheartsandmindsofanimals.Mostpeoplethink
animalsaresimplemindedcreatureswhosometimesdisplayintellectorlove.Butareanimals
capableofunderstandingdeathandtheirownmortality?Thisdebateoverwhetheranimals
displayemotionsbeyondthoseassociatedwithparentalcareorotheraspectsofsurvivaland
reproductionhasledtoarapidlydevelopingfieldofstudyinanimalbehavior(King2).This
fieldofsciencebeganwithCharlesDarwin,oneofthefirstscientiststoobservetheexistenceof
emotionsinnonhumananimalsinhis1872book,
TheExpressionoftheEmotionsinManand
Animals
.Darwinproposedthatemotionsevolvedandadaptedovertimejustlikeothertraitsthat
animalspossessandpointedoutsimilaritiesbetweenhowhumanandnonhumananimals
expressemotionsthroughdistinctivemovements.Inparticular,Darwinsobservationsofthe
emotionofgrieflaidthefoundationsofanewschoolofresearchcalledethologyandcreated
significantawarenesstothestudyofanimalemotionsandbehaviors(Archer19).Darwins
theoryoftheevolutionofbehaviorledearlyethologistssuchasJulianHuxleyandOskar
Heinrothtofocusonanimalbehavioursthatareconsideredinstinctiveornatural.Early
ethologistsfocusoninstinctivebehaviorsexhibitedbyanimalsinfluencedmodernethology
whichbeganinthe1930swiththeworkofAustrianethologistKonradLorenz.AlthoughLorenz

isrecognizedforidentifyingfixedactionpatternsinanimals,healsodiscoveredtheprincipleof
attachment,orimprinting,whichinaspeciesistheemotionalbondformedbetweenan
individualandanother.Lorenzidentifiedthatthebehaviorofimprintingiswhatallowsthe
animalstorecognizesmembersoftheirownspecies.In1950,psychoanalystJamesBowlby
influencedethologybyapproachingthestudyofanimalbehaviorusingtheattachmenttheoryby
focusingonseparationanditsconsequences.Thebasisofhistheoryishowhumanbeings
respondwhentheyareseparatedfromlovedonesandstatesthattheattachmentdependsonthe
individual'sabilitytodeveloptrustintheircaregiversandself.InhispapersBowlbydiscussed
maternalseparationandtheprocessesofgriefandmourninginhumansaswellasnonhuman
animals.Hedescribesthecourseofgriefandmourninginhumansandanimalsasanalogous
claimingthathumansshareanatomicalandphysiologicalfeatureswithlowerspecies,andit
wouldbeoddwerewetosharenoneofthebehavioralfeatureswhichgowiththem(Horst76).
In1970,anewdevelopmentinthefieldofethologyemergedwhenethologistJohnH.Crook
publishedhisessay
SocialEthology
.Crookarguedthatethologistshouldconcentrateonthe
behaviorsofsocialgroupsofanimalsinsteadofexamininganimalsasindividuals,whichmostof
theworkinethologyfocusedon(Crook277).Crookproposedthatmorefocusneedstobegiven
tosocialaspectsofgroupsofanimalsandthebehavioursthatareexhibitedinthem.
Manynonhumananimalshavebeenobserveddisplayingbehaviorandemotionin
relationtogrief.Thisbehaviorisexhibitedatthedeathofaclosesubject.Onevividdescription
ofanonhumananimalexpressinggriefispresentedinethologistJaneGoodall's1990novel
ThroughaWIndow:MyThirtyYearswiththeChimpanzees
.InGoodallsreportthedeathofa
chimpanzeenamedFlo,causedhereightyearoldsonFlinttowithdrawfromthegroupandstop

feedingwhicheventuallyledtohisdeath.Furthermore,therearenumerousaccountsofnon
humananimalsperformingrituals,suchasburials,forthedeathofamemberoftheirspeciesand
sometimesmembersofotherspecies.Aninstancewhereanonhumananimalwasperforminga
buriallikeritualwasobservedincrows.Whenadeadcrowisfound,twoorthreecrowswill
divedownandemitaparticularcallthatsummonsamurderofcrowswhichthenlandand
surroundthebodyincompletesilence.JohnMarzluff,awildlifescientistdescribesthisbehavior
thatisexhibitedbythecrow'sasmourningaloss.Althoughtherearereportsofanimals
displayinggrief,manyarecautioustoassignanemotionsimilartohumangrieftononhuman
animalsandclaimthatitisunscientific.Theirwarinessisduetotheuncertaintyofnonhuman
animalscognitivereasoning,awarenessofdeathandtheirownmortality.

Thisreviewofthescientificstudiesinethologysupportstheideathatnonhumananimals
possesstheabilitytogrieveandfeelprofoundloss.Thereviewwillbeginwitha
neuropsychologicalargumentforanimalgriefandloss.Irefertoneurologists,LoriMarinoand
AntonioDamasioandtheirtheoriesonanimalcognition.ThenIwillprovidestudiesbyShane
WatsonandJoanGonzalvothatdocumentcetaceansdisplayingsorrowandgrieflikebehavior
atthelossofsignificantothers.Finally,IwillreviewJohnArcherandhistheoriesonthenature
ofgriefandwilladdresswhyanimalsareabletofeelemotionssuchasgrief.
Inconclusion,thescientificliteratureonanimalgriefcreatesafoundationthatleadsusto
ustoquestionourethicsconcerninganimalcaptivityandthemassmurderingofcetaceans.
CetaceanCognition

Whatgivescetaceanstheabilitytohaveemotions?NeurologistLoriMarinoand
AntonioDamasioprovideabiologicalexplanationtohowemotionsmightbefeltincetaceans:

Cetaceanshavecomplexbrainscapableofcomplexcognitionabilities.Thebrainsofdolphins
andwhalesaresignificantlylargerthanhumans.In
theessay
CetaceansHaveComplexBrainsfor
ComplexCognition
,LorinMarinotheorizesthe
largesizeofdolphinbrainsisaprimaryresponseto
socialforceswhicharerequiredforeffective
functioningwithinacomplexsocietycharacterized
bycommunicationandcollaborations(0966).
Furthermore,Damasiosuggeststhatvariousbrainstructuressuchas
thethalamusandthe
cingulatecortexgivestheindividualsasenseofself.Marinoaddsthathighlevelcognitive
functionssuchasattention,judgement,intuitionandsocialawarenessareconsistentwiththe
expansionofcingulatecorticeswhichisresponsibleforhelpingaspectsofsocialcognition.
Damasiosuggestshavingasenseofselfandknowingtowhomthisishappeningmakesit
possibleforanimalstohavepersonalexperiences(Bekoff864).Animalssenseofselfgivesthem
theabilitytohaveexperiencesandfeelings.Nonhumananimalsareabletoexperiencegrief,joy,
lossandmanymoreemotions.Animalscapacitytoexperienceattachmentandlosscanbe
consideredtobethecauseofanimalgrief.(Berkoff2)Inthedolphinssocialgroup,individuals
benefitfromrecognitionofthemselvesandothersandfromflexibilityinadaptingtonewbehaviors
duetosocialcontextshifts(0966),
,

ConnectionsinSociety

Manydolphinspeciesliveinsocialgroups.In
SocialBehaviorinBottlenose
Dolphins
,aresearchernamedShaneWatsonstudiedthesocializationbehaviorofdolphins.
Watsondescribedthedolphinslivingincomplexsocialsocietiesthatresemblesafissionfusion

society,meaningthattheindividualsinthegrouparealwayschanging.Beingapartofagroupis
thedolphinsmeansofsurvival.However,beingapartofagroupcanalsoleadtotheformation
ofattachmentswithfamilymembersorgroupmembers.Watsonreportsthatdolphins
demonstrateatypeofgriefwhenfamilyorpodmembersdie.Thisoftenleadstothedolphin
distancingthemselvesandstopeating.Henotesthatthisbehaviorlastsforafewdaysuntilthey
resumetheirtypicalactivities.Indiscussionofnonhumananimalgrief,attachmentscanleadto
separationanxiety.Manyanimalsdemonstrategriefwhenaclosefriendorlovedoneisabsent
ordies(Berkoff2).Therearemanyreportsofanimalbehaviorthatcanconstituteasmourning.
Forexample,therehavebeenoccurrencesofdifferentcetaceanspeciesexperiencinggriefand
loss.Scientistsobservedthatdolphinsdonotlikeleavingtheirdeadcompanionsbehind.
In2007,JoanGonzalvo,abiologistobservedaofgrieflikebehavioroccurringoffthe
coastofGreece.Amotherwasobservedtryingto
reviveherchildbyliftingthebodytosurfaceina
repeatedcycle.ScientistsattheTethysResearch
Institutewitnessedthebottlenosedolphin
displayingdesperatebehavioroverthecourseof
twodays(King96).Themothervocalizedand
touchedherchildwithherfinsandrostrum..Other
membersofthegroupoccasionallyapproachedto
observethescene,buttheydidnotinterfere.Gonzalvodescribedthesceneasmaternalgrief
andsuggestedthatthemothermayhavebeenmourningthesuddendeathofhercalfand
seemedunabletoacceptthedeath.Thedolphinmotherexhibitedasimilarbehaviortothose

ofmonkeyandapemothersbycarryingthecorpseofthedeadinfant.AyearlaterGonzalvo
observedanotherpodofdolphinsswimmingwitha2montholddolphinthatwashaving
difficultyswimming.Gonzalvoobservedthegroupswimmingerraticallyandtheadultstryingto
helpthedyinganimalstayafloat.Basedonthepreviousobservations,Gonzalvoexpectedthe
mothertostaywiththecorpseandmourn.However,themotherallowedthecorpsetosinkand
lefttheareawiththerestofthepod.Gonzalvohypothesizedthatwhenanimalissick,therestof
thepodgavetheindividualcompanyandsupportandleftaftertheirjobwasdone.Inthecase,
thepodhadassumedthatdeathwouldeventuallycomeandwerepreparedduetothedolphins
decreaseinspeed.However,inthefirstscenariothemotherstayedwithherdeadbabybecause
shewasnotpreparedforthedeathsinceitwasunexpected.Bothcasessuggestthatdolphinsnot
onlyexperiencegriefbutcanalsocomprehendtheirownmortality..

Conclusion:
EthologistJohnArchernotesthatanimalsdisplaybehaviorindicatinggrieforseparation
distressandareknowntoshowsignsofstrongdistresstobothseparationanddeathofoffspring,
parentormate.Archersuggeststhatweshouldexpectanimalsexperiencingsomeformofgrief
sincemostanimalsaresocialcreatures,theyformpurposefulrelationships,whichmeansthey
havetoexperiencetheendofthem(35).Ifcetaceansareindividualswithcognitiveand
emotionalcapacitieshowcanwekeepthemlockedupinconcretepensandbrutallykillthem?
Signsofgriefarepresentinwildandcaptiveanimalswholonglongforalostcompanion.A
studyconductedin2010bytheWorldWildlifeFundfoundthatraredolphinswerebeinginjured
byboatstrikesandaround200,000cetaceansarekilledorinjuredannuallybyfishinggear,
pollutionandhabitatloss.MarkSimmonds,theInternationalDirectorofSciencefortheWhale

andDolphinConservationSociety,saysitiscleardeathinhuntsandfishingnetsmayoftenbe
prolongedandpainfulandalsosignificantlyaffectmoremembersofthepopulationthatjustthe
animalskilled.Orcasincaptivityareknowntomournwhenasomeoneclosetothemhaspassed
awayorbeenrelocated.Forinstance,Orkid,acaptivefemaleorcadisplayedbehaviorssuchas
screamingandcryingoutwhenSumar,amaleOrcathatshewascloselybondedtopassedaway.
TheU.S.MarineFisheriesServicefoundthat7.4%ofcaptivedolphinsdieinayearversus3.9%
inthewild.Also,themajorityofthecetaceanspeciesthatareincaptivityformclosebonds,so
breakingthemuptomovethemfromparktoparksimulatesdeath.Thisoftenleadstothe
individualtomournforthelossofaclosefriend.Weneedtoreevaluatehowwetreatthese
beingswiththeemergenceofevidenceofnonhumananimalsbeingsociallyawareandfeeling
griefatthelossofamember.

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