This week at Discovery News we've been addressing how chimpanzees deal with death in human-like ways. As our closest living relatives, the findings did not come as too much of a surprise to most readers here.
But a new video shows how a squirrel reacts when it encounters another dead squirrel, along with some bird predators. It is remarkable how just one squirrel takes on a whole group of large birds, risking its own safety. The squirrel also seems to be examining the body, suggesting that it has at least some awareness of death, which has been very hard for scientists to prove over the years.
Proving awareness is a big deal, because it can suggest self-awareness, empathy and other traits once only attributed to humans.
Please watch the video, and see what you think.
Tags: Animal Behavior, Animals, Video
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