Do animals have nervous breakdowns?
"No, but they can suffer mental illness when kept in inappropriate conditions or mistreated," says British zoologist and author Dr Desmond Morris. "Wild animals in captivity can be diven crazy by boredom or the torment of being on the permanent public display." Such mental anguish can manifest itself in self-mutilation, rhythmic pacing or repetitive vocalisations all similar to compulsive human behaviour. Animals aren't known to commit suicide, though, as they don't have the same philosophical concept of "self" as man.