• Question from:Duncan

This is a serious question and not just an off the wall thought. Our cat was dying and wasn't washing regularly. I became unually allergic and needed antihistamines for the first time in my life. The day before the cat died, a white wedding dove arrived in our garden and has 'adopted' us, perching on our balcony and staying with us is a very tame manner. This alone is simply a 'poetic coincidence'.
My wife related this story to a friend who quickly replied that the same ting had happened to her with collar doves when her dog died.

I am wondering whether there is a deep seated smell response in doves that attract them to the scent of a dying animal. I know they're not carnivorous. If this were the case, the ancient association of doves and death may make more sense.

I am aware that this sounds as though its's coming from someone who might have claimed to be abducted by aliens a few times too often, but the behaviour in BOTH cases is totally 'unnatural' and particularly bonding.

I also know that doves don't circle dead animals like vultures. So there may be more coincidence than causality.

Thoughts


Duncan

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  • University of Bristol
  • Posts: 2,455

Is it possible there is a casual explantaion to what you describe - yes. Can I think of any logical or biological explanation - no. Doves and other birds may have a good sense of smell but the idea they are drawn to the speciifc "smell" of a dying animal seems far fetched and if they did then we would see this behaviour far more often!

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  • University of Exeter
  • Posts: 576

I would never say never here but one has to be very careful about seeing a pattern only by looking at the "positive" observations.

What I mean by this is that while both you and your wife's friend  experienced doves approaching when a pet died,  to test for an association we'd need to know how many people have experienced doves approaching when their pets were quite healthy, and also how many people have lost a pet without any avian visitors.