Last week while riding from SF through Marin on the 1 / 101 highway, there was a pair of ducks on the side of the highway.

Well, half of the pair kind of. As one of the ducks was obviously recently run over.
The other one, from what I could see riding past on my motorcycle at highways speeds, was standing right next to its probable companion and bobbing its head up and down repeatedly.
Maybe I was projecting, but it felt like the remaining, living duck was grieving or mourning for its killed friend? Maybe the head bobbing was an expression of sadness, attempts to awaken or revive its friend, confusion, affection...?

I considered taking the next exit and coming back around to help it. But felt there was nothing really to do or help. Its friend was pretty obviously dead and I was not likely going to bring it back to life. The living duck was off the highway, nearer the water now and going through its process whatever that may have been. Interfering in that natural process seemed somehow out of place.
Birth, life & death are obviously natural experiences we all get to experience soon enough. Seems I tend to feel that rather than trying to deny or "fix" the process, it is worthwhile to embrace their honest, unadultered experience since there are inherent opportunities for spiritual growth, learning & experiencing Life in its fullness in going through these cycles of experience.
Of course I am not speaking about going out of our way to inflict pain or death on beings. Simply respecting these natural, metaphysical experiences & our own ultimate ability to experience & learn through the truth of them along with all the transitory emotional feelings one may experience.

There was something deeply moving as well about feeling the duck seemingly mourn or otherwise remain by the other ducks side in that situation. Whatever the actual motivation for its actions.