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Gareta García et al. report a lethal encounter in bonobos: a coalition attacked an adult female, and her infant was taken by out-group individuals, dying the following day. The corpse carried for 2days. Access: nature.com/articles/s41598-026-40297-w.pdf #comparativethanatology #deadinfantcarrying

del Castillo et al. document wild moor macaques' reactions to a dead adult male in Sulawesi, including visual inspection and vocalizations across multiple age and sex classes. Access here: repository.lincoln.ac.uk/ndownloader/files/63966225 #comparativethanatology #primatethanatology

Diego et al. report post-mortem infant-directed behaviors in wild Guinea baboons over 12 years, including carrying, grooming, and cannibalism across 63 cases. Full paper here: biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.18.706182v1.full.pdf #comparativethanatology #deadinfantcarrying

Mutka et al. report a free-ranging Saimaa ringed seal carrying her dead pup for at least 7 days, documented via camera trap. Full paper here: link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00300-026-03468-z.pdf #comparativethanatology #epimeleticbehavior

Hammond & Püschel analyse 83 ICC cases across the genus Pan using Bayesian mixed-effects models, finding that carrying duration is predicted by cause of death, infant age, and site-level interbirth intervals. Preprint here: doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.28.702208 #comparativethanatology

Mu, Yang et al. propose a 5-dimensional framework for comparing death cognition across species. Dolphins, elephants, and chimpanzees show more advanced death understanding than other taxa. Access here: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11427-025-3118-x #comparativethanatology #deathcognition

del Castillo et al. document moor macaques' reactions to a dead adult male in Sulawesi, including visual inspection and vocalizations across multiple age/sex classes no physical contact. Full paper here: repository.lincoln.ac.uk/ndownloader/files/63966225 #comparativethanatology #primatethanatology

Inagaki et al. document mating attempts and sustained interest behaviors in wild boars toward a dead conspecific, via camera trap. Full paper here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.73848 #comparativethanatology #necrophilicresponses

Mating Attempts and Sustained Interest Behaviors of Wild Boars (<fc><fi>Sus scrofa</fi></fc>) Toward a Dead ConspecificWe documented behavioral responses of wild boars (Sus scrofa) to a conspecific carcass using camera traps throughout the full decomposition process. One adult male exhibited necrophilic behavior and ....onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Osuna-Mascaró et al. show that Goffin's cockatoos can develop sensitivity to permanent non-functionality,categorizing stimuli as irreparably non-functional after a single negative event. Full paper here: nature.com/articles/s41598-026-57007-1 #comparativethanatology #animalcognition

Zhu & Wang review the neuroethology of corpse-directed behaviors across bees, covering avoidance, removal, cannibalism, and burial + the neurobiological, sensory, and endocrine mechanisms behind them. Review here: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959438826000103 #comparativethanatology

Comparative Thanatology Highlights — 2026 Edition (so far). See the thread below for this year's standout publications. #comparativethanatology #evolutionarythanatology

Arlet et al. (2025) proposes a framework to study primate thanatology, addressing the need for standardized methods. It emphasizes individual responses to conspecific death using clear behavioral variables. Link: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1... #PrimateThanatology #EvolutionaryThanatology

New paper by Munyawera et al. (2025) analyzes 141 infant deaths over 21.7 years of observation in mountain gorillas.60.5% of mothers engage in infant corpse carrying (ICC), with an average duration of 4.9 days. Link: link.springer.com/article/10.1... #PrimateThanatology #deadinfantcarrying

Responses of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) to deceased infants - PrimatesStudying nonhuman primates’ responses to the death of conspecifics has gained growing interest in comparative thanatology providing wider evolutionary context for our understanding of human responses ...link.springer.com

Attademo et al. report 25 years of parental & epimeletic behavior in captive manatees. Findings reveal complex maternal care, cooperative female caregiving, adoption of orphaned calves, and care toward deceased calves by two females and a male. Link: doi.org/10.1016/j.ap... #comparativethanatology

Kotik & Towers document the rare, closely witnessed decline and final hours of adult male orca whale , including interactions with Pacific white-sided dolphins, humpbacks, and the attentive presence of his kin. Access link here: doi.org/10.1111/mms.... #epimeleticbehaviour #comparativethanatology

Van Oosten et al. (2025) review how signs of depression appear in primates, proposing diagnostic criteria requiring a core symptom (depressed mood or anhedonia). Several signs occur naturally, often after maternal loss or social separation. Link: peerj.com/articles/187... #animalgrief #depression

Benjamin et al. report a group of Bryde’s whales repeatedly surfacing, circling, and closely inspecting a deceased adult pod member over several days, marking the first documented case of such thanatological responses in these baleen whales. Link: doi.org/10.20944/pre... #epimeleticbehavior

In 2024, my colleagues and I organized the @evothan symposium, bringing together experts in comparative thanatology from around the world. At the time, a French documentary team captured many of us in action: now available to watch here (w/ Eng subtitles): www.arte.tv/fr/videos/11... #animalgrief

Le chagrin des animaux : mythe ou réalité ? - Regarder le documentaire complet | ARTEQue ressentent les animaux face à la mort de leurs congénères, et qu’en comprennent-ils ? À travers des exemples passionnants, une exploration d’un champ d’études en plein essor : la thanatologie anim...www.arte.tv

Tong et al. show that losing a pair-bonded partner alters CRF receptor levels in the coyote brain, in olfactory, hippocampal, and amygdala regions, highlighting neurobiological effects of grief in long-lived monogamous mammals. Paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.ne... #animalgrief #postmortembrainmapping

Chen et al. report thanatological responses in black snub-nosed monkeys, including revisiting and guarding deceased companions, alarm calls, and social partner hugging, alongside some scavenging by local carnivores. Access paper here: doi.org/10.1002/ajp.... #primatethanatology #cameratraps