A heartbroken gorilla mum who refused to give up her stillborn baby for nine weeks has finally surrendered the lifeless infant.
Western lowland gorilla Joas, 34, cut a tragic figure as she carried her baby’s body everywhere with her in her enclosure in Basel Zoo, Switzerland.
Distress zoo visitors have watched the macabre sight of Joas carrying her baby around since it arrived stillborn on 1st February.
Clearly distraught, mum Joas would sleep with her baby nestled on her chest and every morning tried desperately to revive it.
During the day, she would try to encourage it to hold onto her back or carry it around the enclosure in her hands or her mouth.
Now biologist and zoo ape enclosure head Adrian Baumeyer, has confirmed that Joas finally let go of the infant at the beginning of April.
Baumeyer said it was a sign of the strong bonds between gorilla mums and their babies adding: “It’s completely normal for gorillas.”
He explained that she finally let go of her baby when the mother and child bond began to break down as she went through the very human-like grieving process.
Baumeyer said: “At this stage, it is a thing for her, no longer a young animal.
“The fact that the mother carries the body around for two months is a relatively long time.”
According to a 2021 study, both gorillas and chimpanzees cope with the death of a newborn by carrying their bodies around as a sign of grief.
Additionally, the mother and infant bond influenced how long the mother would carry the baby.
The younger the baby was when it died, particularly before reaching half the weaning age, the longer the mother would carry it, suggesting a deeper connection, said the study.
Baumeyer said taking the dead infant away from Joas was never an option, as she could have killed the keepers in an outburst of grief and rage.
Baumeyer said: “We were looking forward to the birth. The stillbirth was a setback.
“We’ll give Joas the time she needs.”
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below. Story By: Georgina Jedikovska, Sub-Editor: Georgina Jedikovska, Agency: Newsflash
The Ananova page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
