brought tears to my eyes - we all should learn to stop and be silent.

This is amazing picture!

I woke up this morning to see this picture online, and throughout the day I have been thinking/feeling about what it represents.

It speaks on some many levels, and yet does it all with a single moment, as do all of our greatest images.

Thank you for sharing this, and for connecting me with something universal in all of "us".

The photo is stunning, heartwarming, sad, and uplifting-all at the same time. The article made me just sob-what a moment that must have been. gt.

This is a lovely story. And I must tell you I witnessed a similar event with a pack of squirrels once, without really realizing the deeper implications. I saw this pack of squirrels near a squirrel that had apparently just been hit by a car. The squirrels slowly gathered in a circle around the dead squirrel, standing on their back legs and facing inwards silently. One of the squirrels then moved in close, got down low, and looked intently into the face of the dead squirrel. Then this squirrel got up, sort of straddled the dead squirrel, and started tugging on the dead squirrel's shoulder as if trying to revive it. This was fruitless of course and, after a few minutes, the pack of squirrels moved on. What was striking was that they moved on slowly, with several individual squirrels stopping to turn around and look back at the dead squirrel as they moved away. This could all have been nothing but a grieving ceremony.

This is a touching picture!!! It really is amazing, how the other chimps are watching silently... it proves they experience some emotions in the same way (not the same intensity?) as humans do.

this has to be the best picture ever taken love it

WOW.OUT OF ALL THE ANIMALS I HAVE SEEN DEAD, TIHS IS THE WORST.I PRAY THAT OTHERS FEEL THE WAY I FEEL ABOUT ANIMALS AND STOP ABUSING THEM.

When I read that for 25 years Dorothy was chained to a post and basically tortured, I want to give up my citzenship with this world. However, to read that she was able to come back and live her last 8+ years with chimps and people who loved her makes me very, very happy.
National Geographic showcases all the creatures in the world and makes us all stop for a minute...."the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals"- Ghandi...

I am literally in awe. What an amazing thing to capture on film as it represents so many things. Incredible story, as well.

absolutely makes you stop - stare & silently reflect on what amazing things wildlife does to grab outr attention, and we supposedly are the intelligent ones !

My 5th and 6th grade students, who understand little about death and dying were stunned by this photo. It reinforced my teaching to them about the interconnectedness of all life and indeed just how closely related we are.

Those poor little buggers

They are smarter than I thought. It looks like they value life. Proof that man can't be from apes.

OMG what a beautiful picture.
As far as people claiming animals have no souls, they're fool.

what a beautiful moment the photographer witnessed something very special.
seems a peaceful place compared to my world of money and greed
if only i had the courage

This is an extraordinary picture that will give a lot of talk, that will give the author some popularity and that hopefully will give Sheri Speede more help with her project and more importantly hopefully will give chimpanzees, our ancestors, some better opportunities that they deserve and require, without doubt, from us, their big brothers. R.E.P. Dorothy.

This is a beautiful yet tragic story and picture. We have learned so much throughout the years in ways we are similar and different from chimps. This photograph proves that we have so much yet to discover.

All animals (Humans, chimps, dogs, cats. etc.) have real emotions. It is the way we communicate those emotions that is so different.

Thank you for telling this story and capturing this moment in a picture.

This is just so amazing... so pure...just shows how much animals are like us.. this just makes me believe more that deep in our DNA there is this embedded memory of when we were not separated from the rest of the natural world, that we were part of it.....

Chimps are so human-like. What a heart-breaking life.

I wish they would post a much larger picture!

I have been doing a blog about this for my geography class this is probly the most meaningful picture to me. It makes you stop and think what if everyone us as humans soposivly the higher developed acted like these chips do.one: would there be less violence in the world and two: a better understanding of other people. if we all just stop and be silent like Ann C said i think there would be a better recpect for people and all living things in general

This photo made me stop........we are all in this together. A moment of respectful silence for Dorothy....

All of us have lost a close friend or family member. It's tragic, no matter who or what we are.Nameing every breathing human & creature GOD has created.If you would look at the picture again.MMM.We should look at things differant. To bad very many people won't be able to look at this.

RIP Dorothy :(

thank goodness there are rescue centres like this. when will man stop being cruel?

Really very touching.

this braught tears to me eyes...

The photo is amazing, it definitely got me thinking.

this is amazing seeing chimps mourning for a loved one.we must respect wild,take care as well as leaving the wild enjoy the world as we do.please let us share the world with this creatures its not us alone.it is hurting

R.I.P DORATHY :(

Why are the chimps behind a fence?

Is it an electric fence?

Why are they separated like that?

It looks like a concentration camp.

Do they have any idea why they are behind the fence or what the humans are doing with the dead chimp?

This touches me very much. I love monkeys.

We should all learn something from this chimps sad past and also the respect she had from her peers. RIP.

how sad for the chimps and those that saved Dorothy and gave her a better life.

very touching story and an amazing picture...

After reading this article I cried, honestly why would we thing they are so different from us emotionally. My heart goes out to the keepers, which from what I read will miss this gift from up above.

Rest in peace Dorothy.

These comments speak my sentiments as well. In addition to them, I'm hoping they are intelligent enough to know that we did'nt kill her.

I gasped out loud when I saw what this picture was, and found that I had tears in my eyes. Beautiful and heart-wrenching.

yea..so i cried a little...so what

:'(

There are people here crawling out of their caves admitting that chimps may be sentient and that they value life, but then they say that's proof humans are not evolved from apes or ape-like creatures? That's like saying you admit the earth is round and that smaller objects orbit bigger ones, but then still believe earth's the center of the universe.

@Freddie Pena: Actually, science has proven that not all animal brains are capable of comprehending the same things. Not all animals understand and value life beyond primitive instinct to survive. Chimps understand this because they're highly evolved. When people look at this photo they shouldn't look at the differences and see how humans aren't apes and there's a god. They should see how similar chimps and humans are, and derive from this a little more proof that we evolved from such forms.

What I'm curious about and would love to hear from knowledgeable folks is what is the standard procedure that wild chimps do when a chimp of their group dies? In reading this article about how some chimps "displayed agression" I'm wondering if the burial was to them another affront. Did they perceive the act of burying this chimp as a hateful thing? Was it wise to bury this animal in front of the rest of the group?

People could take lessons from chimpanzee society

we have so much to learn from these noble chimps.

The situation is touching, no doubt about it. The strongest image, for me, is that of the silent chimps...none of whom are standing alone. Although each has its own body position, they are all touching at least one other member of their group. Many have a hand on the arm or back of another grieving friend, or an arm around a shoulder. Some are body to body, taking comfort from nearness. Surely these are creatures with souls.

Knowing the history of Dorothy's horrible time in the amusement park makes this picture even more compelling!

Perhaps it was just a feeding behavior. Keeper at the enclosure barrier mean food typically.

If there is any doubt about the truth of the theory of evolution, let it be cast aside now.

Thank you, National Geographic, for giving us the opportunity to witness the fact that ALL creatures, big and small, have emotion, soul, Spirit, and the will to live. It is up to Humans to recognize this and live on this planet as if the God in All Life mattered.

Thank you, National Geographic, for giving us the opportunity to witness the fact that ALL creatures, big and small, have emotion, soul, Spirit, and the will to live. It is up to Humans to recognize this and live on this planet as if the God in All Life mattered.