Troubling bird behaviour (warning graphic content hard to digest)

I didn't want to post this picture in my 365 thread since I think it might be offending for some.

When visiting the bird sanctuary on Bonaventure island I noticed this mother bird desperately trying to revive her dead cub (or baby bird, sorry for my weak english translation skills here). I saw another parent poking her baby to try to stimulate it and I suspect that this mother poked a little bit too much on the same spot for a while. These birds (gannets) keep the same mate for all their life and they can live up to 40 years. They only lay one egg per year and they probably mourn their deads. The mother in this case was doing steps all around the dead one and looked really sad. I found it hard to watch but wanted to share this with you.

Very touching.
A lot of birds/animals have been seen to show this kind of attachment.. Unbelievable but true

It is not disturbing - just sad.

I firmly believe animals have the capacity for many of the same emotions that we as humans experience. Being around animals all my life, I've observed their capacity for memory, sadness, anger, jealousy and revenge (chickens are some of the worst - pecking order sound familiar). Elephants apparently experience emotion when they come cross the bones of another elephant.

Thanks for sharing the photo.

Very sad indeed

Penguins are this way, too. They form attachments to a single mate and often live out their entire lives together.

Kudos for documenting this and having the stones to share it. Photography doesn't always have to be pretty. It's important to have a record of things how they really are, without all the sugar on top. I remember having a hard time @ accident scenes when I worked for the newspaper at first, too. It's just something you have to get over. That camera is in your hands for a reason.

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There is nothing stronger than a mothers love.

Thanks,Marcel

I never posted this one for the same reason. This Male would not be chased away. He just sat there.

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Add loyalty and dedication to the list of emotions some would chalk up to instinctive behavior, but I disagree.

Thanks for sharing,

Thanks for posting the story, Marcel. Well worth noting.

Animals are absolutely amazing to watch for all sorts of reasons. My wife moderates the chat on a barn owl box webcam site and they've had incidents where the mother has had to terminate a chick (owlet) after it was either injured in a food melee or when it was too ill to make it. It's difficult to miss the sadness and compassion with which the mother deals with the issue.

WhiteLight;bt1741 said:

Very touching.
A lot of birds/animals have been seen to show this kind of attachment.. Unbelievable but true

Click to expand...

I was going to say the same thing.

Great story Marcel. I would love to experience being there as well. Lots of photography experience instead of capturing them in a zoo.