<p>In light of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_consciousness#Cambridge_Declaration_on_Consciousness" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Cambridge Declaration of Consciousness</a>, are there any animals, which are aware that they will die?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-08T10:08:52.047Z
Some of them definitely do. Elephants are the biggest example. I will try to pull out some studies on this behavior of elephants.
Spero
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-08T12:41:35.647Z
Unfortunately most data I found were of the nature of "12 facts about" or brooding of pet lovers. Many mammals can identify the dying and the dead. Only elephants and whales seem to respond to aging, but that alone is not enough. Linking aging with death and perceiving aging as inevitable are difficult to attribute to animals. Fear response towards aging can be a valuable proof, but difficult to attain. All we know for sure is that elephants think about death. They have a morbid fascination towards the remains of any dead elephant.
Spero
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-19T16:19:19.453Z
There is an answer to this at [this Philosophy question](https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/4690/do-animals-know-that-they-are-going-to-die)
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-20T07:54:05.020Z
@Chris - perfect, thanks a lot! Spero, thanks too!
M3RS
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-06-29T23:08:41.643Z
This cow fled to an island after realizing it faced slaughter: https://youtube.com/shorts/zr1PaUZIejA?si=ustfjpycRN3jGLiL
Aaron
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-07-08T08:05:58.067Z
Elephants and the higher primates are the largest examples of animals with self awareness (including death), and potential evidence suggests certain other species may have this trait. It could also be possible that cattle, chickens, and other livestock could have had sentience at one point before we bred it out of them.
Costillo
<consciousness><animal-cognition>
Is there any animal, which knows it will die?
M3RS
# Is there any animal, which knows it will die?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-04-07)

In light of the [Cambridge Declaration of Consciousness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_consciousness#Cambridge_Declaration_on_Consciousness), are there any animals, which are aware that they will die?

**Tags:** consciousness, animal-cognition

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Some of them definitely do. Elephants are the biggest example. I will try to pull out some studies on this behavior of elephants.  
> **username_1**: Unfortunately most data I found were of the nature of "12 facts about" or brooding of pet lovers. Many mammals can identify the dying and the dead. Only elephants and whales seem to respond to aging, but that alone is not enough. Linking aging with death and perceiving aging as inevitable are difficult to attribute to animals. Fear response towards aging can be a valuable proof, but difficult to attain. All we know for sure is that elephants think about death. They have a morbid fascination towards the remains of any dead elephant.  
> **username_2**: There is an answer to this at [this Philosophy question](https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/4690/do-animals-know-that-they-are-going-to-die)  
> **username_0**: @Chris - perfect, thanks a lot! username_1, thanks too!  
> **username_3**: This cow fled to an island after realizing it faced slaughter: https://youtube.com/shorts/zr1PaUZIejA?si=ustfjpycRN3jGLiL  
> **username_4**: Elephants and the higher primates are the largest examples of animals with self awareness (including death), and potential evidence suggests certain other species may have this trait. It could also be possible that cattle, chickens, and other livestock could have had sentience at one point before we bred it out of them.  

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## 0 answers

