An adorable clip of a dad proving that he is the most wholesome man while out 'hunting' has led to one person in the comments writing, "protect this man at all costs."
The video posted by @spooksister has been viewed 1.1 million times. In it, a daughter films her dad sitting in the woods looking at his iPad. She wrote: "My dad who goes 'hunting' but doesn't want to kill anything. Look what I caught him googling."
The camera then pans to his iPad screen to reveal that he is looking up on Google 'do deer mourn their dead.' The caption reads: "He is a gem and will actively be your dad."
Do Animals Grieve?
Nineteenth-century revolutionary naturalist Charles Darwin believed that animals were capable of complex emotions such as grief and happiness. Theories about elephants grieving their dead were recorded by philosopher Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23-79), who created the editorial framework for the modern encyclopedia.
In 2018, a killer whale called Tahlequah, who lost her calf, continued to swim with its body for 17 days after it died. The mother constantly nudged it to the surface of the Pacific Ocean to stop it from sinking off the coast of Canada and the Northwestern United States. The Center for Whale Research wrote in its blog: "Her tour of grief is now over, and her behavior is remarkably frisky."
Animal behaviorists have traditionally shied away from attributing human emotions, such as grief, to responses by animals. There are many examples in nature similar to that of Tahlequah that humans have interpreted as grief, but how is it scientifically defined?
"A growing body of evidence indicates that species ranging from dogs to dolphins mourn the passing of relatives and close companions," read an article in the Scientific American. "These observations suggest that, although the ways in which we mourn may be uniquely human, our capacity for grief has deep evolutionary roots."
The scientific data proving the intricacies of grief in animals is difficult to acquire, and research is ongoing. However, what is known is that to study and understand grief among animals, researchers need to define it separately to other emotions.
The Scientific American article argues that, while an animal response to death "embraces behavior by an individual following the death of a companion animal, researchers may strongly suspect grief only when certain conditions are met. First, two (or more) animals choose to spend time together beyond survival-oriented behaviors such as foraging or mating.
"Second, when one animal dies, the survivor alters his or her normal behavioral routine—perhaps reducing the amount of time devoted to eating or sleeping, adopting a body posture or facial expression indicative of depression or agitation, or generally failing to thrive." The scientists argue that this behavior is more intense than simply sadness, and that grief might take on different visual indicators in different species.
One TikTok user commented under the video: "I don't have a dad – can y'all adopt me. Instead of hunting we can do wildlife photography," to which the original poster replied, "My dad apparently say yea come on in pal."
Another user commented: "He's seen Bambi for sure."
Newsweek has reached out to @spooksister via TikTok for comment.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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