Chimpanzees Seen 'Mourning' Late Friend

1:01pm UK, Wednesday October 28, 2009

Emma Rowley, Sky News Online

A group of chimpanzees have been captured on camera apparently lost in grief for the death of a friend.

More than a dozen apes watched in silence from their enclosure in Cameroon as the body of Dorothy, a chimp in her 40s, was wheeled past for burial.

Dorothy, who died of heart failure, was described as a "prominent figure" within the group of about 25 chimps at the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Centre.

The photo was taken by 30-year-old Monica Szczupider.

She was working at the centre, which cares for orphaned animals whose mothers were killed for the illegal bushmeat trade.

"We were burying Dorothy," she said. "We brought her in the wheelbarrow to let the others see.

"I cannot emphasise enough how silent and still they were. Chimpanzees are typically not like that.

"They are loud, with short attention spans. It was unbelievably emotional. We were all struck."

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