The grieving chimps
The November issue of National Geographic features an extraordinary photograph of a group of chimpanzees watching, evidently in solemn sympathy, as two humans prepare to bury a fallen peer.
The photograph has attracted so much attention--so many links--that National Geographic today, on its web site, offered more information about its origins. The photographer, Monica Szczupider, is a volunteer at the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center, in Cameroon. She submitted the photograph, taken a year ago, to the magazine as part of a regular contest for amateurs. Realizing what a fine shot they had on their hands, the editors promoted it to the magazine's regular "Visions of Earth" section, which features the best stand-alone photographs the magazine can find.
The simian subject of the shot, Dorothy, died in her late 40s of congestive heart failure. She'd been at the rescue center for eight years, after having worked for 25 years at an amusement park, where she was chained by the neck and taught to drink beer and smoke cigarettes. "As her health improved," writes the magazine's Jeremy Berlin, "her deep kindness surfaced. She mothered an orphaned chimp named Bouboule and became a close friend to many others, including Jacky, the group's alpha male, and Nama, another amusement-park refugee."
The Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center, now home to 62 chimps, was founded in 1999 by Sheri Speede, a veterinarian who can be seen cradling Dorothy's head in the picture. Speede was assisted at the burial by Assou Felix, an employee of the center.
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