Wednesday, August 5, 2009

I so get you, mama gorilla

You are so not crazy.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1204017/After-heartbreak-baby-dying-arms-Gana-gorilla-cradles-newborn.html
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15 comments:

  1. FunsizeAugust 5, 2009 at 5:21 PM

    I didn't know that gorillas grieved, that's so crazy. Elephants also grieve too, they all huddle together and stroke the dead body as if to say goodbye.

    Hey, we all know mother nature can be cruel. But at least this momma got her rainbow baby too.

    Thanks for the post.

    xoxo

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  2. Carly MarieAugust 5, 2009 at 5:27 PM

    Just linked to you from my blog Sal. I am lazy, thanks for posting x

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  3. ezra'smommyAugust 5, 2009 at 7:53 PM

    Aw, this actually brought tears to my eyes, particularly the last pic of her holding up her dead baby :(

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  4. Catherine WAugust 5, 2009 at 8:38 PM

    Aw poor mama gorilla. I think we all get her. xx

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  5. Shannon RyanAugust 5, 2009 at 11:37 PM

    I totally get her too.. it's funny that we humans are so amazed that animals can grieve. I'm so happy she got her rainbow baby.

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  6. Jus and KatAugust 5, 2009 at 11:38 PM

    Just hopped over from Carly's blog . . . yes, I get it too! That last picture in the article is absolutely heart-wrenching.

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  7. PaigeAugust 6, 2009 at 12:10 AM

    "In the wild, gorillas can hold the body of a dead baby for up to three weeks."

    I get it. Thanks for posting, Sally. xo

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  8. Erika PAugust 6, 2009 at 1:45 AM

    The pictures brought tears to my eyes too. Right after Sierra was born and I was trying to dry up my milk I remembered how, when I nursed my living son, I felt a connection to all other mammal mamas, and then I thought about a mama horse who had lost her foal and how I feel a connection to her now.

    The mama horse was at the stable where I rode as a teenager and she had a foal who only lived for a day. The day after he died I went into her stall, wearing the same sweatshirt I'd worn while petting him the day before and was amazed by that mama's response to her baby's scent on my shirt. She was just so clearly grieving and she lipped and nuzzled my shirt, then leaned her head against my chest and sighed deeply. (She wasn't my horse and had never been that affectionate with me before.) It hurt my heart then - and now. And now I really get her too and the gorilla mama also.

    (If you're wondering who I am, my "de-lurking" comment is on the post just before this one. And I promise I don't always leave such crazy long comments...)

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  9. TinaAugust 6, 2009 at 1:49 AM

    Wow this is amazing. It is crazy that this gorilla understands us more than people who have not suffered the same loss. Thanks for sharing!
    xx,
    Tina

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  10. Debby@Just BreatheAugust 6, 2009 at 2:14 AM

    That is so sad, I had no idea.

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  11. ericaAugust 6, 2009 at 2:58 AM

    Thanks for posting this, Sally. I remember seeing photos of her with her dead baby, and crying my eyes out - of course she didn't want to let him go, of course. It eases my heart a little to see her with a living one.

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  12. JenniAugust 6, 2009 at 6:28 AM

    this knocks me out. i didn't know about her story from last year. it gets me thinking - i don't think the media would publish a photo of any one of us mourning and holding the body of our dead child. and if they did i don't think we'd receive as much compassion as dear gana has. i kind of get it - it is a horror that no one wants to look in the face - but it also makes me angry. we keep death so hidden, especially baby death. i think that makes it so much worse for those of us who do lose... less preparation, less support.

    xoxo

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  13. Akul's mamaAugust 6, 2009 at 8:25 AM

    I cried. A mom is a mom ..be it human or animal or bird..

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  14. AleinaAugust 6, 2009 at 12:39 PM

    yes yes I get her too. So not crazy.

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  15. Leila's mommyAugust 8, 2009 at 7:13 AM

    goodness, that last picture of her holding her dead baby was heartbreaking. many people don't realize how many other animals grieve, it's not only a human condition. i'm sure if it were socially acceptable to hold our dead babies for three weeks we all would, but death is so taboo in our culture. it's a shame.

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