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Mama gorilla won't let go of her dead baby
Mother ‘is mourning and must say goodbye,’ zoo spokeswoman says
 | Gorilla mother Gana carries her dead baby at the zoo in Muenster, western Germany, on Aug. 20, 2008. The baby died on Aug. 16, but can only be recovered from the enclosure once the mourning mother leaves the corpse behind, zoo spokesperson Ilona Zuehlke said. |
Frank Augstein / AP |
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updated 5:34 p.m. ET Aug. 20, 2008
BERLIN - A gorilla at a zoo in the German city of Muenster is refusing to let go of her dead baby's body several days after it died of unknown causes.
Allwetter Zoo spokeswoman Ilona Zuehlke says the 3-month-old male baby died on Saturday but its 11-year-old mother continues to carry its body around. Zuehlke says such behavior is not uncommon to gorillas.
Zuehlke says the mother "is mourning and must say goodbye." The mother gorilla is named Gana.
Signs were posted near Gana's enclosure Wednesday to explain the situation to visitors. A staff member is also present to answer questions.
The baby was named Claudio and was Gana's second baby. She had a female baby in 2007 that now lives at the Stuttgart Zoo.
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