Heartwarming Video: This 59-Year Old Chimpanzee Says Goodbye To An Old Friend
It looked like she had no energy left, until her old friend came to say goodbye
The average life expectancy for a chimpanzee in captivity is 32.5 years for males and 40.1 years for females. Keeping this in mind, you’ll realize that this chimpanzee was very old. She had reached the ripe old age of 59.
Unfortunately, it seemed like the end was near for her. She wasn’t feeling well and had stopped eating. She had barely any energy left and spent her days laying around, ready to die. In order to cheer her up, the zoo in which she lived, decided to invite an old friend of hers to visit her.
Her reaction was extremely emotional and heartbreaking. It shows that primates like chimpanzees are just as capable of forming emotional connections as we are. Today we’ll show you what happened when her old friend visited her on her deathbed.
((Read until the end for the heartwarming video!))
Mama
The chimpanzee we’re talking about was called Mama. She was one of the oldest living chimpanzees on the European continent. Her age, 59, is considered as extremely old in chimpanzee-terms. Mama was born in the wild in 1957, after which she spent her youth in a zoo in Leipzig.
In 1971, Mama was transferred to a zoo in Arnhem in the Netherlands, along with chimpanzees Gorilla and Franje. There they formed a new chimpanzee colony that would become world-famous. They were the first example of several adult chimpanzees living in the same enclosure. This was a groundbreaking development.
Mama got really close to one of her caretakers: Jan van Hooff.
Jan van Hooff
Jan van Hooff is a Dutch biologist who is best known for his research involving primates. His grandfather was the founder of the zoo in Arnhem, so he spent a lot of time there. This is where he met Mama the chimpanzee. He first met her in 1972, a year after she had moved to the zoo. They would remain good friends until her death in 2016. Before she died, van Hooff visited Mama one more time. This was captured on video and is extremely heartwarming.
Continue on to find out more!
The extraordinary friendship
Jan van Hooff has fond memories of Mama the chimpanzee: “A lot of people I’ve shown around, after lectures and courses, knew her. Then when we arrived at the enclosure, Mama would run to me from the farthest corners to greet me excitedly from across the canal, chimpanzee-style, with a loud panting ‘ohoh!’. In the past year it has become increasingly difficult. It took her longer and longer before stumbling to the moat. I will absolutely miss her.”
This made it all the more emotional that he was one of the last people to see her before she passed away.
Mama’s not doing so well
It was clear to her caretakers: Mama wasn’t doing very well. They expected her to pass away soon, especially because she had started to refuse food. All she did was lie around. They were heartbroken, because she had been such an important part of the chimpanzee colony in the zoo.
They realized that if they wanted to cheer her up and ease her passing, they would have to do something extraordinary.
Inviting her old friend
The zoo contacted Jan van Hooff and told him about the situation. He couldn’t believe his ears. His good old friend, Mama, dying… Jan was heartbroken. When the zoo asked him if he wanted to visit her one last time, he didn’t have to think twice. He got in his car and drove to the zoo.
There, he would find another Mama than the one he remembered.
Out of energy
The caretakers led the now 80-year old Jan van Hooff into the private enclosure. There she was: Mama the chimpanzee. She was lying on the floor, seemingly without energy. The caretakers told Jan that she was refusing to eat and that it seemed like her end was near.
Jan crouched next to her and started stroking her. When she realized who he was, everything changed.
The reunion
The chimpanzee matriarch didn’t realize who Jan was at first. When he tried to feed her a grape, she didn’t want to eat it. When she finally decided to look up and see who it is that’s stroking her, she immediately realizes that it is her old friend Jan van Hooff. A beaming smile instantly appears on her face. It is extremely heartwarming to see how glad she is to see him.
Happy
Her face immediately lights up. Even though she doesn’t feel well, she is now in the company of the person who she loves most in the world. Even though the two haven’t seen each other in a while, she knows exactly who Jan is. She starts to gently touch Jan’s face, which is a remarkably humanlike expression that shows how much she has missed him.
Special bond
The two have known each other since 1972 and formed a special bond. Jan’s presence seems to revitalize the elderly chimpanzee, as she now starts to accept food. They talk, hug and care for each other like old friends sharing memories. You can see the love between the two. It’s an extremely unique display that shows how remarkably humanlike chimpanzees are.
Hugging and kissing
Mama pulls Jan close and hugs and kisses him, even though she had been lethargic for days. She doesn’t care that she’s tired: she needs to show him how much she loves him. And Jan loves her back, as is evident in how he interacts with the elderly chimpanzee. It is truly heartwarming.
Tired
After about five minutes of affection, Mama’s energy reserves are empty. She hugs Jan one last time and lies back down. A week later, she passed away. We’re so glad that the two old friends got to see each other one last time, as they had known each other for 44 years. They had a very special bond, as you can see in how they interact with one another.
On the next page we’ll show you the video of the two friends.
Video
Take a look at the video below, on which you can see the events as we described them on the previous pages. It’s a very emotional and heartwarming video, that will surely make your day. If you enjoyed this video, be sure to check out some of the other heartwarming stories that can be found on our website.
Credits: Jan ARAM van Hooff
Source: https://www.tips-and-tricks.co/various/chimpgoodbye/