Categories: HEALTH & WELLNESS

Can Animals Commit Suicide?

Aristotle once wrote about a stallion that jumped into an abyss after it realized it had mated with its mother. Then there was the incident of a dolphin that killed itself. The dolphin from the 1960s show Flipper sank to the bottom of the steel tank after looking at the trainer and stopped breathing. Darwin told the story of a dog that kept repeatedly putting its head under water until it drowned. But the animal suicides are not limited to animals. Insects too have been known to commit suicide. One well-known insect, the scorpion, will repeatedly stab itself if it finds itself in a dangerous situation like when surrounded by flames.

Other animals, the lemmings, have a tendency when there is overpopulation to have a panic attack, and this may drive them to go off a cliff. And then there is the case of baby octopuses that climb out of their sterile rearing chambers, and without the water, they die. From these cases, it would appear that animals do commit suicide.

Moral and Religious Viewpoints

Many religions hold that humans are different from animals because humans can commit suicide, whereas animals cannot. Thomas Aquinas considered suicide sinful and impossible for animals – indeed, one of the religious arguments showing that humans and animals are not similar. That humans are made in God’s image is reflected in part by how humans treat their own life. Humans are not animals because the former can commit suicide, while the latter cannot.

Do Humans Commit Suicide?

That may seem like a silly question because there are daily reports of people doing just that. But do they willingly kill themselves? Or are they responding to traumatic events in their lives that force them to behave in this fashion. Consider someone who is happy, healthy, is economically secure and has a good life. Furthermore, people love this person and likewise this person loves others. Is there any rational reason to commit suicide? No. if you are not suffering, suicide does not even appear on the horizon. It is not a viable option.

On the other hand, take someone who has suffered a traumatic injury or event in his or her life, or may be suffering from depression or intense physical pain. Such a person would be a likely candidate for suicide. Right? But is that person acting freely, or is that person under immense pressure to do something that radical? Are they acting voluntarily by taking their own life, or are they responding to an adverse situation where suicide is necessary.

Consider a soldier who is on the battlefield in the middle of a firefight. He notices that a fellow soldier is hurt and is lying in an exposed area and may be dying. The soldier makes the decision to help the wounded comrade even if there is a good chance he will get wounded in turn and die. Is this suicide? Most would say it is valor, not suicide. It is valor, but it may lead to death. So is it suicide? Maybe it is a statement saying that “my death will be worth more than my life. My death will have value. Or I am willing to sacrifice my life for others.” The sacrifice may involve death. In many ways, it would appear to be suicide.

What is Suicide?

These issues may lead us to consider that suicide, the taking of one’s own life, can take place only in an involuntary situation, not in a voluntary one. One can act in that manner because pain or depression is unbearable, or to sacrifice oneself for the benefit of others. Those are outside causes. A normal, healthy, well-adjusted person without pressure will not commit suicide. So, in the case of animals, if they behave in a similar manner where they “take” their own life, they may be reacting to some outside pressure causing them to behave in this manner.