This is the story of mother gorilla Shira, facing the loss of her baby daughter. Shira could’t accept her baby’s death, so she clung to her for a week, trying to revive her.
Shira had a very difficult time coping with the death of her baby. Her daughter was born at the Frankfurt Zoo in Germany, but died a week later from unknown causes.
Only a few years ago, Shira also lost her 6-month-old infant Tondu from a viral infection. Now the devastating impact caused by the death of her second infant is a bitter blow. It’s hard for the gorilla to comprehend her baby’s fate.
‘This is often the case with gorillas. The bond between mothers and their babies is particularly close,” Zoo Director Manfred Niekisch told the Daily Mail.
After a week of hoping she would show signs of life, and with her face full of grief, Shira said goodbye to her infant daughter. Frankfurt Zoo zookeepers removed the body from the enclosure once Shira had seemed to accept the death of her baby.
Gorillas are excellent mothers—they nurse their young for three years before they are left to be independent.
Mother Shira holding her baby.
The 10-year-old gorilla walks out of her cage at the Frankfurt Zoo in Germany feeling miserable.
Shira tragically lost her week-old infant.
It’s awful to see any mother lose her baby.
She is not ready to accept the death of her baby and tries to wake her infant up.
(h/t Wittyfeed)
Shira’s sorrow last year got transformed into joy when she gave birth to a baby on September 15. Watch how she is back to being a doting mom.
