Grieving Chimpanzee Refuses to Let Go of Baby Who Passed at Spanish Zoo
Visitors at Valencia's Bioparc Zoo in Spain were stunned when they noticed a chimpanzee carrying around a deceased baby chimp. The grieving mother is Natalia who gave birth to the baby about 3 months ago. The baby lived just a few days before it passed away. Since then, Natalia has been carrying the infant around, grieving its loss.
CGTN Europe shared a clip on their YouTube channel on Tuesday, May 21st of one of the zoo's experts explaining why they allowed Natalia to keep the baby. Believe it or not, it's actually natural behavior for chimpanzees to do this, and it's also giving researchers a chance to study her behavior.
This is so sad, and my heart breaks for this mama. CGTN said in the video's caption, "Some visitors found the sight disturbing but the experts at the zoo explained that this is common behavior for chimps, and they would mourn lost loved ones in the wild too." It still doesn't make it any easier for all of us to see. It looks like the other chimps are supporting the grieving mom, and that they're showing her great compassion.
Allowing Natalia to keep her baby allows researchers to study the grieving process. This also helps them better understand the animal's emotional process and how they cope with loss.
The zoo expert also explained that Natalia's mourning process over her baby chimp has lasted longer than expected, but just as humans display different grieving styles, they respect her wishes to continue to hold the baby. Sadly, this is not the first baby that Natalia has lost; she lost a child in 2018 as well.
Related: Chester Zoo Welcomes Recently Born Baby Chimpanzee
Facts About Baby Chimps
Baby chimps are called infants, not surprising since scientists have found that chimps share 98.8% of their DNA with human babies. Had Natalia's baby lived, she would have clung to her mother for the first few months of life. Baby chimps don't cry like human babies, but instead they "scream" to vocalize their needs. The infants spend the first seven to ten years with their moms, learning how to find food, use tools, groom, and make nests in trees. They're so smart that if living in captivity, they can even learn sign language to communicate with people. They're very intelligent animals.
While mom is responsible for the majority of the baby's care, dad's do step in to interact and play with their babies, even allowing them to occasionally sleep in their nest.
The zoo isn't sure how much longer Natalia will grieve, but eventually, she will set her baby down. Chimps are able to give birth every three to four years, so Natalia will have another chance at motherhood. I just hope that her next baby lives and she's able to love it and watch it grow.
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