Mama, The 59-year Old Chimpanzee Who Captured Hearts Around The World
Chimpanzees are our closest living relatives sharing 98% of our DNA. Chimpanzees live in social communities that include several families and there’s only one dominant lead. They can use stones to crack nuts and leaves to soak up water. They are on the endangered species list due to loss of habitat, killing their food sources, and the selling and trading of their young.
Now, an amazing, touching story about a chimpanzee named Mama who was the matriarch of the colony at the Royal Burgers Zoo in the Netherlands.
Her colony is known worldwide as a groundbreaking research center involving primate behavior which resulted in the book “Chimpanzee Politics: by Frans De Waal.
In April of 2016, Mama was 59 years old. She was slowly dying and could not eat. Co-founder of the colony, Jan Van Hooff, heard the news and came back to visit his friend and pay his last respects. Hooff had known Mama since 1972 and they had shared an amazing bond.
It seemed that Mama had accepted her approaching death and at first did not recognize her friend. On hearing his voice, something awoke inside of her and the emotions that followed between the two was incredible.
Watch the video below, you will immediately realize the bond between many animals and people.
