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Can other animals understand death? - Barbara J. King

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TEDEd Animation

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In 2018, an orca called Tahlequah gave birth. But her daughter died within an hour. Tahlequah, however, didn’t leave her body. Over the next 17 days and 1,600 kilometers, she kept it afloat atop her own. By altering her feeding and travel patterns, Tahlequah’s behavior was certainly unusual. But was she mourning— or just confused? Barbara J. King explores whether nonhuman animals experience grief.

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Additional Resources for you to Explore

If you would like to learn more about animal emotions, the book Mama’s Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves is an enjoyable overview. To watch a short video showing wild elephants responding to the body of a matriarch, and a discussion of whether their behaviors are based in emotion, go here. For a full focus on animal grief and the love from which it emerges, check out this TED talk. If you’re interested in exploring more about the ethics of how we related to animals, the book Animals’ Best Friends: Putting Compassion to Work for Animals in the Wild and Captivity explores opportunities to help animals in our daily lives. Organizations like Phoenix Zones Initiatives and We Animals Media offer excellent resources to explore as well in the arena of animal-human ethics. 

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Meet The Creators

  • Educator Barbara J. King
  • Director Denis Chapon
  • Narrator Susan Zimmerman
  • Music Cem Misirlioglu, Greg Chudzik
  • Sound Designer Cem Misirlioglu
  • Producer The Animation Workshop
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Senior Producer Anna Bechtol
  • Associate Producer Sazia Afrin
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Script Producer Cella Wright
  • Fact-Checker Charles Wallace

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