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submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by Lisk91@sh.itjust.works to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

hoax

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[-] webghost0101@sopuli.xyz 254 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

This is known hoax, the source is a lie and the real source is not trustworthy in a scientific sense.

What is actually on Wikipedia and by the person claimed as a false source is this:

Funeral rites in animals

While grief is common to many animals, funeral rituals are not. However, they are well documented in African elephants.[14]

Ronald K. Siegel writes that:

one cannot ignore the elaborate burying behaviour of elephants as a similar sign of ritualistic or even religious behaviour in that species. When encountering dead animals, elephants will often bury them with mud, earth and leaves. Animals known to have been buried by elephants include rhinos, buffalos, cows, calves, and even humans, in addition to elephants themselves. Elephants have [been] observed burying their dead with large quantities of food, fruit, flowers and colourful foliage.[15][clarification needed]

Both wild and captive chimpanzees engage in ritualized behaviors at the death of a group member. These behaviors begin with group or individual silence, which may last for hours and followed by behaviors such as distinctive vocalizations; grooming the carcass; solemn visitation and gazing at the carcass by group members; displays; and lamentation-like whimpers or hoo-calls of distress.[6]

Attention to the dead is not unique to elephants or chimpanzees. Dolphins have been known to stay with recently deceased members of their pod for several days, preventing divers from getting close.[8] However, the reasons for this remain obscure. While scientists can observe their actions, the thought processes that motivate them are beyond current study.[16]

Tahlequah (a.k.a. J35), a female orca, carried the carcass of her newborn infant for 17 days.[17]Whether this was a "tour of grief" or merely instinct is debated.[10]

Crows and other corvids also seem to participate in funeral-like ritualistic behavior, including gathering around and holding vigils over the carcass.[9][

[-] tetris11@lemmy.ml 130 points 3 months ago

You just crushed my sense of wonder and beauty, with more wonder and beauty.

[-] Hotspur@lemmy.ml 58 points 3 months ago

Yeah these examples are somehow more profound to me than elephants recognizing the moon as a thing.

[-] LanguageIsCool@lemmy.world 15 points 3 months ago

I agree. The moon thing is still cool and doesn’t sound absurd; some nights it’s bright out and there’s a bright object up in the sky, and it occurs in regular intervals. Sounds believable that some animals would notice it and celebrate the light in the night. But I guess it’s a hoax hehe.

[-] Hotspur@lemmy.ml 28 points 3 months ago

Yeah seems totally plausible to me, I got to see elephants in the wild a few years back, and it left me with no doubt that they were extremely intelligent. Looking into their eyes felt like locking eyes with a fellow human, you just felt there was thinking sentient creature in there. And their behavior in certain situations is very relatable, saw a mother route her calves around a too-aggressive camera tourist car, and once she was sure the babies were safe on the other side, she came back and did what I could only believe was a huge “F YOU” trumpet at the offending car to let them know they were out of line, turned around and went back after the kids.

[-] xx3rawr@sh.itjust.works 17 points 3 months ago
[-] webghost0101@sopuli.xyz 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Reading that sounds like Noot Noot

[-] sem 2 points 3 months ago
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this post was submitted on 20 Mar 2025
508 points (100.0% liked)

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