grief

my friend beth posted this and i thought it was so tragically beautiful that i had to repost it.

I had to post this heartbreaking story.. it's about a mama gorilla in Germany: All mamas who lose their babies grieve.. even gorillas. So are we all that different from gorillas? Maybe we should post signs like they did at the zoo so that when we're grieving people are more understanding?



A gorilla at a zoo in the German city of Muenster is refusing to let go of her dead baby's body several days after it died of unknown causes. The gorilla at a German zoo has been carrying around her dead baby since he died last week. Allwetter Zoo spokeswoman Ilona Zuehlke says the 3-month-old male baby died on Saturday but its 11-year-old mother continues to carry its body around. Zuehlke says such behavior is not uncommon to gorillas. Zuehlke says the mother "is mourning and must say goodbye." The mother gorilla is named Gana. Signs were posted near Gana's enclosure Wednesday to explain the situation to visitors. A staff member is also present to answer questions. The baby was named Claudio and was Gana's second baby. She had a female baby in 2007 that now lives at the Stuttgart Zoo.