Animals understand death too

IN 2018, FIELD RESEARCHERS IN UGANDA came across an unusual sight: a female chimpanzee carrying an infant she had recently given birth to that was affected by albinism, an extremely uncommon condition in this species that gives their fur a striking white color.

- SUSANA MONSÓ

The scientists were able to document the reactions of her mates when they first encountered the infant.

Instead of curiosity and care that newborns tend to elicit, the chimpanzees reacted with what looked like fear, with their fur on end and emitting the kinds of calls that signal potentially dangerous animals. Shortly after, the alpha male together with a few of his allies killed the little one. Upon his death, the behavior of the chimpanzees radically changed, and the apes, overtaken by curiosity, began to investigate the corpse, entranced by this being that smelled like a chimp but looked so different.

This tragic story is one of the best pieces of evidence we have that chimpanzees can understand death. The key here lies in their shift in attitude. What at first was perceived as a threat transformed into a fascinating object. It was as though the chimps had processed that that unusual animal could no longer hurt them. This is precisely what understanding death means: grasping that a dead individual can no longer do what they could when they were alive.