Thread: Animal Suicide

Ok, not a popular topic I admit, but suicide is interesting, and I've wondered before if other animals beside humans were capable of taking their own lives intentionally.

Apparently, according to this time magazine article : http://www.time.com/time/health/arti...973486,00.html
animal suicide has been a long debated topic. It makes references to historical figures like Aristotle contemplating the matter. The Romans, allegedly, quite frequently referenced the horse as being suicidal.

Apparently there's been accounts of all sorts of animals showing suicidal tendencies, such as scorpions repetitively stinging themselves in the back when surrounded by flames, etc.

Do you think some animals are capable of making the decision to take their own life? Do they even understand what it is to live, or die?