“We don’t know the exact cause, but it seems that the mother was not producing enough milk,” the director of the Bioparc, Miguel Casares, explains to BBC Mundo.
Since death, the 21-year-old chimpanzee He did not want to separate himself from the body of his offspring.. He has carried it with him for more than three months while going about your daily routines.
“He doesn’t let go of her at any time. That is a described behaviorwhich can occasionally happen in female chimpanzees with offspring that die when they are just a few days old, in the zoo and in nature”explains Casares, who is a veterinary expert.
Mothers have been known to carry their young for up to four months. “It doesn’t always happen, but occasionally a female can carry a dead calf for a few days or sometimes a few weeks, as well as in this case a few months,” says the director of the Bioparc.
Those responsible for the zoo have chosen to favor a natural shedding process. REUTERS
In all this time, zoo visitors have seen the mother with the calf in what is perceived as a duel.. It has caused reactions of all kinds.
“The first few days you could clearly see that it was a baby and that it was dead. Everyone was surprised… We have noticed a very, very strong empathetic reaction towards the situation. Empathy and respect,” says Casares.
The calf has gone through a natural decomposition process and the zoo has made sure that this does not cause health problems, in order to allow Natalia a gradual separation until she feels ready.
Taking it off was not an option.
The chimpanzee already lost a calf in 2018 and on that occasion she got rid of it in a few days.
This time it has been different. As with other primates that live in natural or controlled environments, the chimpanzees at the Valencia Bioparc are a very sociable and united family.
“In the first days They were very close, they hugged. It was something quite impressive to see because we assimilated it to what could happen to people, it is a very close situation to us,” explains Casares.
After a while, the rest of the chimpanzees – of the subspecies pt verusone of the most endangered in the world – continued with its normal routines.
But Natalia chose not to get rid of the baby’s body.
There are currently six adults and two offspring in the Bioparc chimpanzee group. REUTERS
Zoo experts evaluated the situation and decided to let her process continue as it was best for her. And furthermore, intervening to remove the body would have involved complicated and even risky work.
“The group is always together. So, if we had wanted to anesthetize the mother to remove the calf, we would have certainly had to anesthetize several family members“says the director of the Bioparc.
“And we had the other female, who is her sister, who had a small calf, which would have put the other calf at risk with that action. “We never thought about that option.”
For specialists, who have already seen similar situations, it was the best route to follow.
““Death is also part of life”
Today the chimpanzee Natalia carries out her daily activities with relative normality. Has not shown health problemslike the other chimpanzees, for having the body of her dead baby next to her during these months.
“We have been monitoring the health status of the adult animals and we have not seen any problems. But of course, The calf has gone through a phase of decomposition. It is a natural process. But chimpanzees have, luckily, a very powerful immune system,” explains Casares.
If necessary, zoo specialists could intervene, but they have favored the mother assimilating the situation naturally for her own well-being.
Visitors have reacted with empathy upon learning of Natalia’s situation. REUTERS
Casares emphasizes the fact that, despite being in a controlled environment, the chimpanzees at this zoo They are not domesticated animals or pets..
What happens to them follows patterns that have been seen in other natural or controlled environments.
“It also happens in nature, not only in chimpanzees, it is also described in other sociable primates, great apes, baboons, elephants, animals that are always very intelligent and with a very strong relationship between mother and offspring and with very complex family behavior,” points out.
“[En el zoológico] There are not only young animals and pretty babies that play. Death is also part of life and sometimes animals die“.
Although it is striking and may even impress some people, especially the little ones, members of the zoo have been present at the site to give the pertinent explanations of what has happened.
“The vast majority to whom it has been explained have understood it, they have shown empathy and respect for a mother who is in the process of grieving the loss of a child.”
What has happened to Natalia is rare, but not unusual in chimpanzees and other primates. REUTERS
