A mother's grief -

Eleven-year-old gorilla Gana was holding her three-month-old baby Claudio in her arms on Saturday in her compound at the zoo in Munster, northern Germany, when it suddenly died.

Initially puzzled, Gana stared at the body, bewildered by its lifelessness.

For hours the distraught mother gently shook and stroked the child, vainly seeking to restore movement to his lolling head and limp arms. Visitors to the zoo openly wept as they witnessed her actions.

Hours passed, during which Gana continually prodded and caressed the dead child, to no effect.

But still she refused to give up hope. Gently placing it on her back and slowly walking around the compound, she stopped every few paces to look back and see if her much-loved son had returned to life.

'Claudio died in his mother's arms - we think from some heart defect,' said zoo director Joerg Adler.

'On Wednesday he didn't seem well. On Friday he wasn't eating or drinking and was growing weaker. We were keeping a close eye on him but suddenly, on Saturday morning, he died.'



Still think animals don't have feelings?

Source: MailOnline


But hold on ---

This is not Gana's first experience with motherhood.

Last year, she gave birth to her first baby, a female named Mary Zwo. Gana rejected Mary Zwo for six weeks. Staff at the zoo finally intervened and rescued the baby, which was taken to a veterinary hospital with dehydration and exposure. Mary Zwo was never returned to her mother and has lived at a zoo in Stuttgart with four other gorillas ever since.

This time, Münster Zoo rejected the idea of stepping in to save Claudio. "There was no point in intervening again," said Mr Adler. "We cannot keep on taking away children from a mother."

Cute or not? Baby gorilla

Jenny's birthday

This is Jenny. Jenny is recognized as the world's oldest gorilla in captivity

Gorillas in the wild normally would live to age 30 or 35, but health care and protection from predators has extended their lifespan in zoos. Of the roughly 360 gorillas in North American zoos, only four are over the age of 50. All of them are female. Jenny is the oldest of them all at 55.

Caretakers at the Dallas Zoo, where Jenny lives, celebrated her birthday with a four-layer frozen fruit cake and banana leaf wrapped treats.

Source: Live Science

Heart disease hits zoo gorillas

Gorillas in zoos around the nation, particularly males and those in their 20s and 30s, have been falling ill - and sometimes dying suddenly - of heart disease.

The stunning deaths of otherwise healthy apes have zookeepers scrambling to understand what factors may be causing the illnesses and what might be done to save the 368 lowland gorillas that now reside in 52 zoos across North America.

Ape experts have established the Gorilla Health Project, looking to track rates of heart disease and death among gorillas in captivity.

Read the excellent article at Monkeys in the News.