It is a common belief that people think animals do not stay loyal to their partners after mating. This is true for most animal species’ but not all of them. There are some breeds of animals who form lifelong bonds with their mates!
A netizen has shared such a tale about a pigeon who had stood by it’s dead mate
The internet user said that the female pigeon passed away in early January but despite it’s death, her mate did not leave her side for a long time, a whole seven months to be specific. Seven months is not a short span of time especially for this species of bird whose average life expectancy is only around 6 years in the wild.
The person who recorded the whole incident stated that the male pigeon would often call out to his mate as if he was mourning for her. He was also seen to have covered her remains with twigs to protect her.
No one knew the cause of the female pigeons death, but her mate remained by her side
March 6, 2016: The male pigeon is still by her side. He rarely leaves except to look for food
April 11, 2016: He’s still here watching over her
May 2, 2016: He looks after her remains
May 8, 2016: The pigeon looks like he’s sheltering her body with little twigs
June 2, 2016: It’s been a couple of months and he’s still here
June 20 2016: It is as if he is caring for her like she was alive
June 30, 2016: Her feathers are starting to shed but he still sits by her side
July 10, 2016: The body of his mate is decaying rapidly
July 12, 2016: There’s barely anything left of his mate but it looks like he isn’t ready to let her go
September 9, 2016: He looks like he is still grieving over the death of his mate
October 14, 2016: There is nothing left of the female pigeon’s body and yet he still comes back to this same spot
The person who posted this pigeon’s journey said that he left his mate only after seven months. If true love exists in animals, here is a prime example of it. Some humans don’t even grieve that long after the death of their spouse. This pigeon took the phrase “Till death do us part” and went above and beyond it.