CrowdScience

Do animals hold funerals?

Published: April 24, 2026

Duration: 26:28

CrowdScience listeners Dougie and Molly have been wondering what happens to animals when they die, and whether there are animals that hold rituals to mark the passing of one of their kin.

Presenter Caroline Steel is on the case, trying to work out what happens to the bodies of animals when they die. Dougie and Molly say they rarely see animal carcasses where they live - so where do they all go?

Dr Sarah Perkins of Cardiff University in the UK runs a research project called Roadlab, which logs how quickly the bodies of animals...