Do Animals Grieve?

Are humans the only species on Earth capable of expressing grief and sadness when family and other companions die?  I've oftentimes wondered on that possibility.  Jessica Pierce, of "The Smithsonian Magazine," wrote a 2018 piece asking that very question: "Do Animals Experience Grief?"  Pierce looks at the argument from both sides, and cautions us as to the appropriateness of ascribing human emotions to animals.  Nevertheless, Pierce believes that animals may, in fact, grieve and mourn in similar ways that humans do.  The following images could help us ask whether animals are purely instinctual creatures, or whether they are capable of feeling loss in a way similar to how us humans experience death and loss.

Monkeys: (source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/monkey-mourning-dead-baby-photo-infant-emotional-india-a7728226.html)

Doves: (source: https://cowboystatedaily.com/2021/06/08/image-of-dove-appearing-to-grieve-over-death-of-mate-in-wyoming-goes-viral/)

 

Raccoons: (source: https://www.ladbible.com/news/animals-raccoon-mourns-the-loss-of-its-buddy-20180827)