I don’t know what to make of that. I have no trouble attributing emotions to an animal that stays by it’s mate’s/child’s body. Or in the area. But recognizing a memorial photo? Not sure.

And not to hijack here, but you’ve made me your vassal and now you need to teach me how to play.

It’s natural for us to be anthropomorphic toward animals. At the very least it is an attempt to understand their behavior. Most of us have done such since we were children. In this situation it’s an encouraging phenomenon, in my opinion. Those experiencing such strong feelings are projecting, but these are “good” feelings that are being projected… and have the possibility of affecting a greater respect for all life (not just the cute and furry types).

I also think it’s easier to acknowledge the grieving of mammals, as we do not just see them grieve, but often times hear them grieve as well. As a boy I raised many kinds of animals, particularly dogs. My favorite was a Great Dane named “Jason”. Now watch me employ anthropomorphism here … Jason seemed to act as though he was a part of the family, and that our other dogs were his pets. As the alpha dog, he kept them in check. But when one of our other dogs died, Jason mourned with howls, lethargy, and loss of appetite. I was powerless to get Jason to eat for about a week. My father had to step in and force feed Jason to keep him alive. Some could chalk this up to instinct… a pack mentality. But in this case the stronger, and more basic, instinct to survive was supplanted and suppressed by a lesser instinct that looks very much like emotion. It’s witnessing this (and other similar events) that make the mourning of a turtle at least plausible to me… especially if the species mates for life. However, I am in agreement with Nathan concerning the photo… possible, but unlikely (IMO).