QUESTION = Do animals know they're going to die? GENERATION = I read an article about this once, I can't find it now, but I remember reading about a dog that had been put into a room with a vacuum cleaner, and it didn't notice it was sucking in air, it just started sucking in air as normal. It was pretty amazing to watch. So it was just sucking in air. Then, the dog got out of the room and began running around the house, running into things and being hurt. It eventually just died of exhaustion. So, no, they don't know. But it is interesting to think about. It might have just been a part of their routine, or it might have been a learned behavior, or it might have been something they did because it was the only way they could do it, and they figured it out, and it was just a part of their routine, and they thought it was cool. I remember reading about this, so if anyone knows anything about this, please let me know. Also, I can't find the article now, so I apologize if I didn't do it right. It's been a while since I read it, but I hope it's still okay and relevant to the topic. RETRIEVAL #0 = Anti-predator adaptation---example of this is seen in white-tailed deer fawns, which experience a drop in heart rate in response to approaching predators. This response, referred to as "alarm bradycardia", causes the fawn's heart rate to drop from 155 to 38 beats per minute within one beat of the heart. This drop in heart rate can last up to two minutes, causing the fawn to experience a depressed breathing rate and decrease in movement, called tonic immobility. Tonic immobility is a reflex response that causes the fawn to enter a low body position that simulates the position of a dead corpse. Upon discovery of the fawn, the predator loses interest in the "dead" prey. Other symptoms of alarm bradycardia, such as salivation, urination, and defecation, can also cause the predator to lose interest. Section::::Warding off attack.:Distraction. Marine molluscs such as sea hares, cuttlefish, squid and octopuses give themselves a last chance to escape by distracting their attackers. To do this, they eject a mixture of chemicals, which may mimic food or otherwise confuse predators. In response to a predator, animals in these groups release ink, creating a cloud, and opaline, affecting the predator's feeding senses, causing it to attack the cloud. Distraction displays attract the attention of predators away from an object, RETRIEVAL #1 = Deception in animals---reproduction, for example, in the nursery web spider, the male sometimes feigns death to avoid getting eaten by females during mating. In some cases, death feigning is used by a predator. For example, the predatory cichlid "Haplochromis livingstoni" lies on its side on the bottom sediments until approached by scavengers attracted to what appears to be a dead fish, whereupon "H. livingstoni" abandons the pretence, rights itself and attacks the scavenger. Death feigning behaviour can be deliberately induced by humans, a prominent example being the "hypnosis" of chickens or pigeons. For example, if a pigeon is grasped firmly, quickly inverted and held briefly on its back on a table, it often remains immobile for a minute or two. According to Gilman et al. the investigation of 'animal hypnosis' dates back to the year 1646 in a report by Kircher. It has been shown that the intensity and duration of death feigning is related to the intensity of fear prior to the feigning state being induced. This has been used to show that hens in cages are more fearful than those in pens, hens on the top tier of battery cages are more fearful than those on the lower levels, hens carried by hand are more fearful than hens carried on a mechanical conveyor, and hens undergoing longer transportation times are more fearful than those undergoing transport of a shorter duration. RETRIEVAL #2 = List of common misconceptions---direct themselves toward a specific location known as an elephants' graveyard to die. BULLET::::- Bulls are not enraged by the color red, used in capes by professional matadors. Cattle are dichromats, so red does not stand out as a bright color. It is not the color of the cape, but the perceived threat by the matador that incites it to charge. BULLET::::- Dogs do not sweat by salivating. Dogs actually do have sweat glands and not only on their tongues; they sweat mainly through their footpads. However, dogs do primarily regulate their body temperature through panting. See also "Dog anatomy". BULLET::::- Lemmings do not engage in mass suicidal dives off cliffs when migrating. This misconception was popularized by the Disney film "White Wilderness", which shot many of the migration scenes (also staged by using multiple shots of different groups of lemmings) on a large, snow-covered turntable in a studio. Photographers later pushed the lemmings off a cliff. The misconception itself is much older, dating back to at least the late 19th century. BULLET::::- Bats are not blind. While about 70 percent of bat species, mainly in the microbat family, use echolocation to navigate, all bat species have eyes and are capable of sight. In addition, almost all RETRIEVAL #3 = Animal suicide---of pea aphids increasing their chances of death as a response to parasitism. Vervet monkeys will alert others when a predator is near, consequently drawing attention to itself and increasing their likelihood of being attacked. Many animals that appear to be depressed or grieving begin to exhibit self-destructive behavior that sometimes ends in death, but this is not considered suicide, as the achieving of death was not necessarily the purpose or objective of the behavior. In 1845, the "Illustrated London News" reported that a Newfoundland dog had been acting less lively over a period of days before being seen "to throw himself in the water and endeavor to sink by preserving perfect stillness of the legs and feet". Every time he was rescued he attempted to do this again before he finally held his head underwater until death. Other dogs, as well as ducks, have also allegedly drowned themselves, although the veracity and/or certainty of the case/story is disputed in each of the known cases. In one of the alleged case, one duck did so after the death of its mate. Some dogs will refuse food from some unknown person after the death of their owner, a behavior that might lead to disease and/or death in severe cases. The death of mourning animals is likely to be caused by depression leading to starvation or drowning, instead of the intent of RETRIEVAL #4 = Going concern---normal course of business. Section::::Auditing. Continuation of an entity as a going concern is assumed in financial reporting in the absence of significant information to the contrary. Ordinarily, information that significantly contradicts the going concern assumption relates to the entity's inability to continue to meet its obligations as they become due without substantial disposition of assets outside the ordinary course of business, restructuring of debt, externally forced revisions of its operations, or similar actions. Section::::Auditing.:Responsibilities. The auditor has a responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about the entity's ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time, not to exceed one year beyond the date of the financial statements being audited (hereinafter referred to as a reasonable period of time). The auditor's evaluation is based on his or her knowledge of relevant conditions and events that exist at or have occurred prior to the date of the auditor's report. Information about such conditions or events is obtained from the application of auditing procedures planned and performed to achieve audit objectives that are related to management's assertions embodied in the financial statements being audited, as described in Auditing Standard No. 15, Audit Evidence. The auditor should evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about the entity's ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of RETRIEVAL #5 = Going concern---level of risk in their portfolios. A negative judgment may also result in the breach of bank loan covenants or lead a debt rating firm to lower the rating on the company's debt, making the cost of existing debt increase and/or preventing the company from obtaining additional debt financing. Because of such responses to expressed concerns by auditors, in the 1970s, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Cohen commission concluded that an auditor's expression of uncertainty about the entity's ability to continue as a going concern "tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The auditor's expression of uncertainty about the company's ability to continue may contribute to making its failure a certainty." Businesses should also communicate with business advisors as well as their auditors in the time of trouble. Communication can let advisors and auditors help when needed. They can help business review their internal risk management along with other internal controls. Section::::See also. BULLET::::- [Source 2012 PCAOB Survey] "If it is concluded by either the independent auditor, or management or both that the company may not be a going concern, what disclosures should be provided to investors?" BULLET::::- "A reasonably detailed discussion of the company's ability to generate sufficient cash to support its operations during at least the twelve months from the date of the financial statements. RETRIEVAL #6 = Fear---"wild" again. Dr. Bolles states that responses are often dependent on the reinforcement of a safety signal, and not the aversive conditioned stimuli. This safety signal can be a source of feedback or even stimulus change. Intrinsic feedback or information coming from within, muscle twitches, increased heart rate, are seen to be more important in SSDRs than extrinsic feedback, stimuli that comes from the external environment. Dr. Bolles found that most creatures have some intrinsic set of fears, to help assure survival of the species. Rats will run away from any shocking event, and pigeons will flap their wings harder when threatened. The wing flapping in pigeons and the scattered running of rats are considered species-specific defense reactions or behaviors. Bolles believed that SSDRs are conditioned through Pavlovian conditioning, and not operant conditioning; SSDRs arise from the association between the environmental stimuli and adverse events. Michael S. Fanselow conducted an experiment, to test some specific defense reactions, he observed that rats in two different shock situations responded differently, based on instinct or defensive topography, rather than contextual information. Species-specific defense responses are created out of fear, and are essential for survival. Rats that lack the gene stathmin show no avoidance learning, or a lack of fear, and will often walk directly up to cats and be eaten. Animals use these SS