Mother Gorilla Refuses to Leave Body of Dead Baby

This is heartbreaking.

Photo Marco Stepniak

Gana, an 11 year old gorilla at the Alwetter Zoo in Muenster, Germany, has been carrying the body of her baby, Claudio, since his death on August 16. Zoo officials say that they are not yet sure how Claudio died, but they are suggesting that his death may have been caused by a congenital heart defect. Because Gana is protecting Claudio so closely, zoo workers cannot retrieve his body to perform an autopsy.

According to the Telegraph, Gana has been carrying Claudio on her back, lifting him up over her head, and trying in vain to revive the dead baby as zoo visitors look on in horror.

Just seeing the pictures has reduced me to tears. I cannot imagine watching this poor gorilla have to go through this tragedy  while in a cage with humans staring at her all day.

Claudio was Gana’s second baby. She apparently rejected her first baby, a girl named Mary Zwo, who was then taken from her and placed at the Stuttgart Zoo, almost 500km away.

I can’t decide which part of this story is more tragic. And to think, there are people out there who believe that animals such as Gana have no feelings or emotions, and that they do not form meaningful bonds and relationships.

So sad.

Gorillas in the Mist

After writing about the discovery of 125,000 gorillas in the Congo last week, I got to thinking about one of my personal heroes, Dian Fossey. Many people recognize her name, but they are unsure of who she was. Anyone who has ever seen the film Gorillas in the Mist knows the story of Dian, who she was, and what she lived, fought, and died for.

In 1963, twenty-nine year old Dian took a trip to Africa where she met her mentor, Dr. Louis Leaky, and his wife, Mary. Leaky and Fossey discussed Jane Goodall and the work that she was doing with Chimpanzees. Dian soon became inspired by the wild mountain gorillas that she saw while visiting Africa. With the support of Dr. Leaky, Dian acquired the funds that she needed to begin her extensive research with the wild gorillas.

In 1970, National Geographic profiled Dian, and a photo of her playing with wild gorillas appeared on the January cover, an image which brought international attention to the animals that Dian was working so hard to understand and help.

Dian Fossey devoted her entire life to the protection, preservation and understanding of mountain gorillas. She was fiercely opposed to the hunting, capture, and captivity of Great Apes.  In order to understand the gorillas she was living among, Dian knew that she would have to recognize and develop relationships with each individual animal. She mimicked their behaviors and sounds, and eventually, she began to gain their trust. In 1970, Peanuts, one of the male gorillas she had been studying, touched Dian’s hand. Her intense work with the animals brought about a new understanding of gorillas, and it brought international attention to her work and the plight of the animals who were being hunted, tortured, and exploited.

In 1977, Digit, one of the male gorillas that Dian had formed a significant bond with, was murdered by poachers. This life-altering even in Dian’s life inspired her to establish the Digit Fund to help raise money for gorilla protection efforts. The charity was later renamed the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.

In 1983, Dian Fossey was murdered in her cabin in the Rwandan Jungle. Her death has never been solved.

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I can remember the first time that I watched Gorillas in the Mist. I was left absolutely devastated by the film. I was truly inspired by Fossey and her work, and read whatever I could find about her. She was an amazing person. Enjoy the photos below.

Dian and Digit:

Dian’s and Digit’s Graves:

I strongly encourge you to visit the Gorilla Fund website, and if you have anything at all that you can give, please do.

125,000 Endangered Gorillas Discovered in the Congo

In an amazing story out of Africa today, it was announced that researchers have discovered 125 thousand Western Lowland Gorillas in the Congo. Previously, it was believed that less than 100 thousand of our closest relatives remained in existence. According to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Western Lowland Gorillas are most commonly found in zoos.

The dwindling population of gorillas is mostly due to hunting, deforestation, and exposure to the Ebola virus from humans. The primates have long been considered to be endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Because the gorillas are reclusive, researchers had to estimate the population by counting their sleeping nests.

Although this is wonderful news, the finding does not mean that the species is safe from extinction. More than half of the world’s primates remain in danger of extinction due to human activity. The gorillas must face disease, deforestation, and hunters who will kill them for “bush meat” and animal parts used in medicine. The International Primatological Society hopes that this news will help to encourage people to work to stop the eradication of the animals through deforestation and hunting.

Please take a few moments to watch this amazing clip that was part of an Anderson Cooper 360 special. Anderson actually traveled to the Congo and spent time in the jungle with the gorillas: