Gorillas hold 'wake' for group's leader

[papau]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/12/08/gorilla.wake.ap/index.html

Gorillas hold 'wake' for group's leader
Gorillas last respects similar to human behavior
Babs suffered from an incurable kidney condition.

Wednesday, December 8, 2004 Posted: 10:34 AM EST (1534 GMT)

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.<snip>

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.<snip>

[BlueEyedSon]

1. Maybe they have a soul too, that will fuck with the fundies.

[Nihil]

2. More of a soul than the fundies have

We, as a species, are just too out of sync with the natural world.
We have gained many things over the centuries but lost even more by
our wilful detachment from our host - Gaia.

[patdem]

4. Hey....you think my plastic stuff is not a reason to euthanize the earth??

You are just a selfish jerk who does not appreciate the shopping season and wants to make people feel guilty for driving SUV's...how selfish can DemoCraps be? (I do love Bob B.)

You need to get over it and understand that the repuglicans will take over the earth..and make it a better place for armagheddon (sp?..never taught at my home school)!!

/sarcasm

[laheina]

3. Animals have personalities.

Why wouldn't they have souls too?