Two papers are out in Current Biology cover chimpanzee experiences with death.

The first is on the death of Pansy, a 50+ year-old chimp at the Blair Drummond Wildlife Park. The authors don’t shy away from anthropomorphic language:

During Pansy’s final days the others were quiet and attentive to her, and they altered their nesting arrangements (respect, care, anticipatory grief). When Pansy died they appeared to test for signs of life by closely inspecting her mouth and manipulating her limbs (test for pulse or breath). Shortly afterwards, the adult male attacked the dead female, possibly attempting to rouse her (attempted resuscitation); attacks may also have expressed anger or frustration (denial, feelings of anger towards the deceased). The adult daughter remained near the mother’s corpse throughout the night (night-time vigil)

These behaviours highlight the interest of a comparative evolutionary perspective on death and dying in species without symbolic representations of death or death-related rituals.

The second report is on wild chimpanzees carrying their dead infants:

An obvious and fascinating question concerns the extent to which [the mothers] “understood” that their offspring were dead. In many ways they treated the corpses as live infants, particularly in the initial phase following death.

While these are both small observational studies, it is encouraging that researchers are able to share their impressions of what they’ve seen. Because we know death, it is entirely fair to start from our own experience to guide—if not our understanding—at least our questions in investigating these phenomena.

On a happier note, bonobos may sometimes mean “no” when the shake their heads.

• Anderson, James R.; Gillies, Alasdair; Lock, Louise C. Pan thanatology doi:10.1016/j.cub.2010.02.010 (Current Biology volume 20 issue 8 pp.R349 - R351)

• Biro, Dora; Humle, Tatyana; Koops, Kathelijne; Sousa, Claudia; Hayashi, Misato; Matsuzawa, Tetsuro. Chimpanzee mothers at Bossou, Guinea carry the mummified remains of their dead infants doi:10.1016/j.cub.2010.02.031 (volume 20 issue 8 pp.R351 - R352)
• Schneider et al. Do bonobos say NO by shaking their head?. Primates (2010) doi:10.1007/s10329-010-0198-2
  

photo by Tatyana Humle via Discovery News