This is the painful moment a heartbroken monkey in a zoo in Germany says goodbye to her stillborn infant.
Two days after giving birth at a zoo in Germany, Traceuse, an extremely uncommon eight-year-old Drill monkey mother, is observed looking down at her infant’s lifeless body.
The Gruner Zoo Wuppertal posted the disturbing image on its Facebook page and wrote: ‘The animal care crew discovered a tragically lifeless male child in the arms of Traceuse, who had been delivered throughout the night.
It was the first offspring for the 8-year-old female, who has been in the zoo since 2017.
Traceuse carried her infant’s body about for two days and cared for it until yesterday afternoon, when she finally buried it.
Traceuse, an eight-year-old Drill monkey mother, is seen looking down at her infant’s lifeless body after giving birth at a zoo in Germany.
Drills are among the world’s most endangered mammals, and the IUCN has assigned them the highest conservation priority among all African primates.
The Gruner Zoo stated, “Although we are deeply saddened by the death of the infant, it brings us great joy to watch how tenderly Traceuse cared for her lifeless offspring.
Therefore, there is a good probability that if she becomes pregnant again and, hopefully, gives birth successfully, she will nurture her offspring in an exemplary manner so as to assist to the conservation of this critically endangered monkey species.
This first offspring also demonstrates that the young breeding group is harmonious and capable of reproduction.
The zoo said that after the newborn monkey’s death, another female monkey “carried the lifeless body around and repeatedly stroked it.”
The zoo stated, “The Drills exhibit a fully natural behavior here, which is likewise observed in wild monkeys.”
Thus, both the mother and the other members of the group said farewell to the deceased infant.
Grüner Zoo Wuppertal in west Germany, where rare Dill monkeys are cared for, is pictured.