Mourning in Chimpanzees

In a timely follow up to Fiona Boyd's essay on the close relationship between humans and the other great apes (see here), the London Times today prints an extraordinary photograph of at least 14 chimpanzees arrayed behind a fence as they quietly witness the burial of Dorothy - an elderly chimp in the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Centre in Cameroon. Staff in the Centre "let the chimps watch the burial so they could come to terms with their loss." The photographer, Monica Szczupider, commented "Perhaps the most stunning reaction was a recurring, almost tangible silence." See the photo and read more here.