Watch The Touching Moment When A Dying Chimpanzee Saves Her Last Smile For An Old Friend
It’s hard to watch this and say that animals don't feel emotions.
By John Lim — 19 Oct 2017, 06:48 PM
Get your tissues ready.
A touching 2016 video showing a dying chimpanzee reuniting with a human has been making rounds on social media.
Mama, the 56-year-old chimpanzee in the video, used to be an important figure in a colony of chimps at the Royal Burgers Zoo in Holland.
The Independent said during the time of the video, Mama was very ill and nearing the end of her life. She had been refusing to eat and stayed curled up in a ball.
Her spirits were lifted when the old friend paid her a visit
That friend is Professor Jan van Hoff, whom Mama had known since 1972.
van Hoff, a professor of behavioural biology, co-founded Mama’s chimp colony in the 1970s.
The two formed a deep bond over the years.
Even in her weakened state, Mama took notice of van Hoff when he walked in
She woke up and screeched with delight and beamed with a smile when she set eyes on van Hoff.
Mama then reached out and touched van Hoff's face before bringing him in for one last embrace
Despite being in a state of gloom for several days, the visit was enough to lift Mama's spirits.
Sadly, she passed away just a week after the emotional visit in April last year
Many had good and admirable things to say about Mama.
"She had an exceptionally strong and dominant personality, so that no man who wanted to come to power could do so around her. She also brought consolation when there were tensions and mediated conflicts.
She will be sorely missed, also by me, because I have rarely seen such an admirable character in both humans and apes," Frans de Waal, a behavioural scientist said.