These images of a gorilla called Shira who lives at a Frankfurt Zoo in Germany are shocking and heartbreaking, and it goes to show just how much mothers hurt when they lose their children.
Reportedly, Shira’s baby died a week ago but the grieving mother refuses to let go of the dead child, holds onto it, hugs and kisses and tries woefully to wake it up. Shira walks across the yard each day, carrying her baby like it is still alive. At night, she puts the dead baby on her chest and wakes up each morning trying to make it wake up.
“This is often the case with gorillas. The bond between mothers and their babies is particularly close,” Niekisch said. “Shira needs time and space to come to terms with her loss. We will wait until she gives the baby up, retrieve it and find out what killed it.”
Shira’s grieve is reportedly also traced to the fact that her first baby, a boy Tanadu, died at 6months after catching a viral infection, and Shira is said to have tried in vain too to wake it up.