Visitors wept as Gana held her lifeless child up in the air, vainly seeking to restore movement to his lolling head, his limp arms.
She put the baby on her back and walked around, stopping to look at him after a few paces to see if he had recovered.
"Claudio died in his mother's arms, with think from some heart defect," said Joerg Adler, the zoo's director.
"Gana doesn't know it, but the whole of Germany is mourning with her. She is so sad right now."
Source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/08/19/eagorilla119.xml
It would be interesting to know how Gana really feels or perceives the death of her child.Can we readily assume that she feels the exact same emotions that a human being feels when they have lost their child?Some would argue with a resounding , "Yes! Of course she does!".Gana's torment certainly did capture the hearts of the visitors in the zoo.
Of course,this is under the assumption that one of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom,holds the same perception of the world as we do or to be more specific,the perception of what is Death.
We all certainly can't agree on what might happen AFTER Death but we can certainly agree that Death itself means the ceasing of life on this existence.After that,comes a period of mourning,where friends and relatives hold their respective religious/non-religious ceremonies.After Claudio died,Gana kept the carcass for days and for many of the visitors/zoo keepers this was a sign that she was in fact mourning for her child.Interestingly enough,as like all apes and monkeys in the wild do when they lose a child,Gana clutched the carcass to her breast and tried to nurse it.
Was she really mourning or was just confused as to why her child was not responding anymore?
In,humans,we can divide Death into basic 2 scenarios.
1.The cessation of life,there is no coming back,soul/no soul.
and/or
2.A religious/spiritual experiance.
The way I look at it,Gana and maybe other great apes or even the entire animal kingdom might not even be able to perceive that Death itself is a cessation of life but that they can certainly see that Life itself can bring about an "end".What this "end" might be,they would not know.It is certainly a complex answer ,more so with the complexity of different species of animals and their reaction towards this "end".If they even do ,how do they even communicate,about Death?
Or do we humans really think we all know what it is to know in this reality and that animals do not?
Hell,thats a pressing question isn't it because we humans can't even get the facts straight on Death itself because of the various amount of perceptual "noise" out there.Perhaps,its better that we not know all the answers to life's next great frontier.
I like a good mystery,mind you! =)
11 comments:
you have certainly set me thinking, and the answers to your questions can be as philosophical as they are scientific.
in my opinion, i simply believe that death means an end and cessation to our existence on earth. then again, i also believe that we are simply toys of some beings living in the 4th dimension.
one of the greater mysteries that eludes men. what comes after life? something of which (i believe) can never be comprehended by men. unless one turns to religion to explain life after death, one might never find an answer. therefore, i say just enjoy life now.
Talking about death.I do believe that death means the cessation of life only on Earth because i believe that having a soul means that there is still "life" to us.Now,Im not going to get all spiritual here,but it seems that creatures and animals do somehow realize the fact when one is dead or immobile.I've seen an army of ants carry an injured ant which i think is rather funny.I've seen an ass kill a kitten infront of its parent and boy was the mother/father trying to hurt him with lighting paws.Now,i know you might be thinking what kind of a saddist does that,i agree with you on that one.So,in my opinion,animals do have a similiar perception on what injury or death is.However,we can never know for sure the real reprecussions it will have of their feelings.Do they experience the same degree of sadness when losing a love one?We humas can only guess so far and your guess is as good as mine.
Death, to some it may be a morbid thought, but others, it could be something that they look forward to. I personally do. As a Christian, we believe that there is a heaven where we will live in eternity with God who loved us so much. Aside from that, death may not always be such a terrible thing. To someone who is ill and suffering, that could be his or her form of relief. Yes, there will be sadness, but won't their loved ones also feel relieved and somewhat glad to know that they are no longer suffering and in pain? Death may not always necessarily be a bad thing, although many perceive it to be.
aww.. monkeys and apes are my favourite animals.
anyway, i guess everyone is afraid to die. but being a christian, i believe in my faith and look forward to my life in heaven. at least, that is what i was brought up to believe anyway..
but nobody truly knows what goes on in your grave
hmmm. well i think that there is more after we die. i think that life is just a temporary stage. then again im catholic and this what the bible says. i think we should not try to know whats gonna happen. because people in the world end up worrying about tomorrow until they forget about today and later start regretting. like what carl say. ENJOY LIFE! while u still can....
Death is an adventure everyone! Don't be scared, don't think it's morbid. It's part of our life cycle and we should just embrace it as easily as we embrace growing older. (ok that point in itself is debatable but still..)
Some people humanize animals to such a great extent that they have replaced human companions with animals. Such people claim that animals are as good, capable, cognitive as humans. But who are we to assume what and how animals think? I think that animals are as complex as humans. Sure, their brain may be smaller, or much larger, have less neurons connected and such, but ultimately, we will never understand them fully unless we're dr. doolittle.
In my religion, what we believe is that when we die, we rest in peace, we wait for our souls to find their next destined place to be. Through reincarnation, life will just be another cycle, be it in another human, or even as energy, as part of mother nature. Death, is just one part of life we will all go through, and although i can't say for certain that i KNOW what my afterlife is like, at least i take comfort in my belief.
I'm a free thinker myself , but hey , this after Death thing is something that fascinates a lot of us , including myself .
I guess all of us have our own perceptions of what comes after we passed on in life . And I think the only way for us to find out is when we reach that stage in our own life .
Therefore , like what siewmai said , ENJOY LIFE NOW .
First of all this post hit me hard as i have always been an animal lover. This just hows, as human beings and animals we are similar in this sense. If you ask me, Gana knows her child has passed away, but does not want to accept it. Grief is something very common in animal behaviour, they perceive basic emotions just like we do. And it is very sad to see that Gana had to go through such turmoil.
Sigh... death.
I have no idea what happens when we die. Obviously.
To me, when we die, thats it.
*We die* end of story.
What happends then, isnt worth spending our (little amount of) time pondering about.
We werent given life, to ponder about death.
Then again, in not a religious person. Where for some, death is something constantly on their mind uncontiously. "If i do this, i will go to hell. hmmm what if i do that? will i go to hell? what should i do now? if i dont do anything will i go to heaven?"
No matter if your thinking about going to heaven, hell, or just what happens in the afterlife. Your still spending the time pondering what happens "in the end"
Its like starting (or being in) a relationship, constantly thinking about whats going to happen when it "ends".
Anyways, thats just my take on it. =D
Cheers!!
btw, dont get me wrong.
Im sure theres probably something after death.
My point is just, why are we thinking about it now, when we're all bound to find out one day.
Its like anticipating your midlife crisis since the age of 15. =S sigh.
Or divorce since the day of marriage.
Enjoy what you have, not wonder about what will eventually come.
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