I am used to hearing a very common statement now and then:-

"humans are the only species that can imagine and believe collectively in a God"

so to anyone expertized in animal behaviour and psychology, I have certain questions:-

do they show any kind of religious attitude? of course, expecting a full-blown religious attitude would be a fairy tale, but like any behaviour that suggests that they hold anything, say a tree or stone, within their community as unnaturally important which appears 'sacred' or something?

do they have any behaviour like giving more importance to the dead which goes beyond just the immediate sense of loss??

or maybe a special attachment to natural phenomena which goes beyond just the immediate instincts of survival?

I'm sorry if the questions seem stupid, but what I ultimately wanna ask is if any animal species has any evolutionary remnant of the trait that helped us humans create shared imaginations and ultimately gave birth to law, order, ideology, philosophy and most importantly religion and God?

I am used to hearing a widespread statement now and then:-

"humans are the only species capable of committing suicide"

but recently I came across some news of animals committing suicide due to lack of a partner or something else

so to anyone expertized in animal behaviour and psychology, I have certain questions:-

• do animals feel anxiety or depression? not just tension or sadness or something like that. things like clinical depression or anxiety attacks etc??
• can they commit suicide? (not by biological programming but due to reasons like depression or else?)

Asking this because one was roaming in my garden like 20 mins ago 😭 I live in India’s Rajasthan - Gujarat area (consider it Gujarat)

As herbivores, gorillas primarily eat plants, including stems, flowers, buds, barks, seeds, bamboo shoots, fruits, grasses, vines, herbs, roots, leaves, and young branches.

What Do The Gorillas Eat

Gorilla diet vary depending on subspecies and season.

• Western lowland gorilla: This subspecies consumes at least 97 plants. Their diet comprises 67% fruit, 17% leaves, seeds, and stems, and 3% termites and caterpillars. In addition to eating termites, western lowland gorillas also hunt ants and break open termite nests for larvae to eat.
• Eastern lowland gorilla: This subspecies consumes at least 104 plant species.
• Mountain gorillas: They consume parts of at least 142 plant species and only three types of fruit (in this area, there is little fruit due to high altitude). Leaf, shoots, and stems comprise 85% of their diet, roots 7%, flowers 3%, fruit 2%, and insects, snails, and grubs 2%.
• Cross River gorilla: Research on this subspecies is less well developed than on the other subspecies. The diet of these animals has been studied based on their fecal matter, which includes fruit, stems, piths, leaves, and some invertebrates.

Would a large cat (Jaguar, Lion, Tiger, etc) defend a human it's created a "bond/connection" with?

You see a lot of these people on YouTube and social media that are around wild animals, working an animal rehab or conservatory or something else in that genre. If someone were to threaten or even assault the person the animal(s) seemingly created a bond/connection with, would they defend their person as if they were their own or would they go about ignoring it? Or possibly act out in territorial instinct and not necessarily because of a connection? Are these kinds of animals even capable of creating a connection with humans on that kind of level?

Typically, orangutans are not dangerous; however, they can sometimes become aggressive in captivity due to how they have been treated. There are two strong hands and feet on them and an extremely hard bite, making them much stronger than humans. Usually, orangutans are peaceful creatures.

orangutans

Three of the four ape species [Gorilla, Orangutan, and Chimpanzee] have male violence, but the types of violence vary :

• Male orangutans are known to rape.
• Male chimpanzees are known to wage wars.
• Male gorillas are known to kill other humans' offspring.

Hello, denizens of r/zoology!

It's time for another weekly thread where our members can ask and answer questions related to pursuing an education or career in zoology.

Ready, set, ask away!