UNITED in what appears to be profound grief, more than a dozen chimpanzees stood in silence from their enclosure as the body of one of their own was wheeled past
When a chimp called Dorothy, in her late 40s, died of heart failure, her fellow apes seemed to be stricken by sorrow.
As they wrapped their arms around each other, Dorothy's keeper gave her an affectionate stroke on the head and settled her into the wheelbarrow that carried her to her grave.
Until recently, describing scenes like this in terms of human emotions such as grief would have been dismissed by scientists
But growing evidence suggests higher emotions, such as grieving and a understanding of death, may not be a human preserve.
Chimpanzees
have often been seen apparently grieving for family and tribe members by entering a period of mourning after a death
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