So touching!

This article appears on the CNN site today.


Gorillas hold 'wake' for group's leader
Gorillas last respects similar to human behavior
Wednesday, December 8, 2004 Posted: 10:34 AM EST (1534 GMT)



Babs suffered from an incurable kidney condition.





BROOKFIELD, Illinois (AP) -- After Babs the gorilla died at age 30, keepers at Brookfield Zoo decided to allow surviving gorillas to mourn the most influential female in their social family.

One by one Tuesday, the gorillas filed into the Tropic World building where Babs' body lay, arms outstretched. Curator Melinda Pruett Jones called it a "gorilla wake."

Babs' 9-year-old daughter, Bana, was the first to approach the body, followed by Babs' mother, Alpha, 43. Bana sat down, held Babs' hand and stroked her mother's stomach. Then she sat down and laid her head on Babs' arm.

"It was like they used to do in the exhibit, lying side by side on the mountain," keeper Betty Green said. "Then Bana rose up and looked at us and moved to Babs' other side, tucked her head under the other arm, and stroked Babs' stomach."

Other gorillas also approached Babs and gently sniffed the body. Only the silverback male leader, Ramar, 36, stayed away.

Keepers said the display wasn't surprising.

"She was the dominant female of the group, the peacekeeper, the disciplinarian, the one who kept things in a harmonious state," Pruett Jones said.

Koola, 9, brought her infant daughter, whom Babs had showered with attention since her birth in August.

"Koola inspected Babs' mouth for a while, then held her baby close to Babs, like she loved to do the last couple months, letting Babs admire her," Green said.

Babs had an incurable kidney condition and was euthanized Tuesday. Keepers had recently seen a videotape of a gorilla wake at the Columbus, Ohio, zoo and decided they would do the same for Babs. Gorillas in the wild have been known to pay respects to their dead, keepers said.

"I had a headache for the rest of the day after all the tears I cried watching them," Green said.



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Oh my gosh.....:( :( Thank God I have an office door to close.

OMG! How touching!

Brookfield zoo is about 15 minutes from my house and I was there in August. Poor Babs. I remember her since I was little. It is so sad how her daughter mourned. I'm glad that the zoo keepers gave them a chance to do it though. :(

Thanks for posting this article Gini. I'm glad the staff let the
others say goodbye to Babs.:(

Just because we don'nt share a common language, doesn't
mean other animals don't have deep emotional attachments
to one another. They benefit from ceremony too.

It's so amazing and so sad to see and read how much they act like us. How they pay their respects to ones passed body. Very touching. :(

They had this story on the news tonight. It looked like the girl from the Zoo that they were interviewing was having a hard time holding back tears and trying to keep from breaking down on TV. I'm sure it was emotional for the staff too since she had been such a big part of the Zoo for so long.

RIP Babs. :(

Very trouching, and so much like people.

RIP Babs :(

What a precious story. Thanks, Gini! :(

lizbud Thanks for posting this article Gini. I'm glad the staff let the
others say goodbye to Babs.

Just because we don'nt share a common language, doesn't
mean other animals don't have deep emotional attachments
to one another. They benefit from ceremony too.

**I agree**
It's so remarkable how animals react to death.
Many people say animals have no feelings & are "JUST ANIMALS". Then explain to me why animals seem to have a lot more feeling than a lot of our human kind does?!
I'll never get the picture out of my head when my parents & I were watching tv about elephants. One of the elephants had been slaughtered for their hide & tusks. The others just crowded around to mourn it, waving their heads back & forth, making these amazing sounds......like crying for us! It was just so, so sad, but heartfelt in the same moment! :(
TiNa

How touching is that?

Lovely of the zoo to think of doing that. It's been known for a long time that elephants mourn - so why not the primates?

RIP dear Babs.

Lynne

That was so sweet and it was wonderful that they let them have that wake.

Yes, animals do grieve and have feelings. My Mama's little poodle and her baby "Kitty Boo" knew she was dying and stayed with her till the end and we had to pick them up off of her after she died. They understood she was gone and letting them stay, helped with their grief, they stayed with her several hours until they came to take Mama out of the house. Holly, the poodle has since gone on to be with Mama but my sister still has Kitty Boo.