Posted on 10/26/2009 11:01:33 PM PDT by Steelfish
Is This Haunting Picture Proof That Chimps Really DO Grieve?
MICHAEL HANLON 27th October 2009
[Pic in URL] United in what appears to be deep and profound grief, a phalanx of more than a dozen chimpanzees stood in silence watching from behind the wire of their enclosure as the body of one of their own was wheeled past.
This extraordinary scene took place recently at the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon, West Africa.
When a chimp called Dorothy, who was in her late 40s, died of heart failure, her fellow apes seemed to be stricken by sorrow.
Enlarge Chimpanzees appear to console one another as Dorothy is carried to her final resting place in a wheelbarrow
As they wrapped their arms around each other in a gesture of solidarity, Dorothy's female keeper gently settled her into the wheelbarrow which carried her to her final resting place - not before giving this much-loved inhabitant of the centre a final affectionate stroke on the forehead.
Locals from the village serve as 'care-givers' to the chimps - something hugely needed by the animals who are all orphans as their mothers were killed for the illegal bushmeat trade.
Hunters captured them as young babies, often still clinging to their mother's bodies, to sell as pets.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Of course those stages are not fact, they are descriptive of what some folks have reported to researchers.
When my dad had a heart attack and passed away last year, when I heard my sister say ‘I think he’s already gone’, I instead interpreted as ‘they took him away in the ambulance’, read: denial. He was dead before he hit the floor.
My mother is bipolar, and it was never our plan (sis and bro and I) that dad would die first, and I was a little pissed, read: anger.
I cannot see how I went through bargaining ... but likely because it was so sudden. Had he been tied to a hospital bed for month after month, maybe I would have. don’t know.
Of course I have been depressed about it, and have had to accept the pretty extreme changes to my life (taking care of mom).
It’s not rocket science, folks, just a different way of looking at things, which may, for some, provide a means of dealing with the grief a bit more constructively.
I’m sure we’ve all known that one person who, when faced with grief, becomes a basket case for months.
Is this a picture of a victim of the violence and savagery at one of those Obama cash give-aways in Detroit? Lol!
“I believe the common character of the universe is not harmony, but chaos, hostility, and murder.” -Werner Herzog
Grief over loss is real, but the steps do not necessarily happened in order.. People can go back and forth between each so called stage.
DANRA:
Denial: can’t believe it happened or will happen
Anger; angry that it happened or will happen
Negotiation: negotiation with God over loss that will occur, please don’t let this happen..etc
Resignation: resigning oneself to the fact that loss will occur or did occur—overcoming denial
Acceptance: obvious—accepting the upcoming loss, or actual loss.
If sadness and/or depression isn’t felt over a loved one, I guess that would mean there was no attachment whatsoever eh?
It’s not pyschobabble, talk to funeral directors, people who deal with wills, trusts and probate, pastors, friends etc. Mourning loss does have stages, and lebeling them doesn’t negate their existance.
Oops, I thought you guys were referring to human grief.
I saw a documentary once where a wild chimp carried her dead baby chimp around with her for a few days before behaving as though she shew it was dead.
Denial then acceptance? Don’t have a clue. They’re not humans..but her cries of anguish seemed real.
she shew it was dead.
Meant she KNEW it was dead. (Sigh)
With all respect due, you don’t make a lot of sense!
How much “grief” does a human feel when he/she is viciously murdering another human?
A couple of years ago Rush did a monologue where he started out talking about how people subscribe human qualities to their pets because it makes them feel better about themselves...but the bottom line is that all animals really want from you is to be fed. Or something like that. He said it’s because we are kind people. He then went on to state that’s how people are dealing with the Muslim problem. They don’t want to believe that there are really humans out there who really hate so much that they do what they do. They want to believe deep down inside that they can be changed. That they are, basically, HUMAN BEINGS. But we know that’s not the case. We cannot change their hearts and minds...we can’t.
Of course, Rush said it a hell of a lot better than I just did!
We had 2 Rhodesian Ridgebacks and even though we had no fence the dogs never left the yard. Our son was killed in a car wreck and after that the dogs changed. They might not have missed him because they were my dogs but they knew something was wrong with me. They became very protective of me and the house and the yard.
Their territory increased to include half of the neighbors yard and into the middle of the street. I finally came out of my stupor to realize something was going on with them when the mailman refused to deliver our mail because the dogs would not let him get near the mailbox.
The end of the story was that we got a fence.
Please see post 49.
That is why I don’t understand what is so wrong with relativity? As you pointed out so well, things really are relative.
It seems to be relative.
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