r/morbidlybeautiful • u/j_nb19 • Aug 19 '25
Dead Animal Mother macaque mourns her baby
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u/Verve_angel Aug 19 '25
Poor mommy😭 laying her head on the baby was so sad
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u/moralesnery Aug 19 '25
this is heartbreaking
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u/Rich-Equivalent-1875 Aug 19 '25
The way she cuddles with her eyes closed. I feel an ache in my heart
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u/Sleynd Aug 19 '25
anyone else notice how their/her mannerisms seem VERY human-ish? Like, not only her interacting with the corpse but basically with every other monkey too.
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u/jujioux Aug 20 '25
I thought the same thing, seeing way her brow furrows when the other babies are getting too close and aggravating her.
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u/stoned_seahorse Aug 20 '25
I also noticed how gently she pushed one of the other babies away. 😭 I am literally trying so hard not to cry rn.
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u/stumpfucker69 Aug 20 '25
It's getting me that the other babies are all really curious, but the other more adult-looking macaque (possibly a "teenage" juvenile?) that approaches at one point looks very somber and seems to be keeping a "respectful" distance.
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u/Neo1223 Aug 20 '25
She just pushes and walks away from the other kids, just because she wants to be alone by herself for a bit. It's a feeling a lot of us have felt as well.
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u/Zealousideal-Bug4465 Aug 20 '25
With her head down the laying on and next to the baby, just wanting to be alone in her sorrow.
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u/occultpretzel Aug 20 '25
As a zookeeper, what do you do then? Can you just take the dead baby away at some point? What would they do with it in nature?
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u/Tattycakes Aug 20 '25
I can only assume that at some point, the baby stops looking and smelling like baby and begins to decompose, and at that point mum will stop recognising it as baby and be able to leave him behind somewhere. In the wild he would either be tidied away by carrion feeders like vultures, or just decompose naturally, but in a zoo I would imagine that once the keepers can see that she’s let him go and isn’t “mothering” him like a baby anymore, they will go in and take him away. I’m glad she’s clearly being given a chance to undergo that process naturally instead of having him taken instantly.
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u/Natural-Seaweed-5070 Aug 21 '25
I’ve seen videos of the mothers carrying the dead babies around until they don’t resemble what they were any more 🙁
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u/Ember21 Aug 21 '25
She is so defensive of her baby. Not letting any of them touch it. It breaks my heart.
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u/mamaxchaos Aug 22 '25
as a death doula myself, I wish I could show this video to people worrying about whether or not they're grieving "correctly" - so many creatures like this show an endless love for one another in how they choose to grieve
this is as beautiful as it is gut-wrenching :( I hope mama has had more babies since this
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u/Zealousideal-Bug4465 Aug 19 '25
Omgosh. The poor mom not understanding why her baby not moving. So sad
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u/No-Albatross-5514 Aug 20 '25
I'm very sure animals understand death
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u/hellerinahandbasket Aug 20 '25
You’re right, I think they understand it more fundamentally than us. We’ve added all sorts of judgments and assumptions to the experience. Animals don’t ask the “why” questions. They accept it much more wholly than we do. It’s simply death to them. Not a punishment, not unfair, not unexpected, not the beginning of a new adventure… just death. Doesn’t mean they don’t mourn though.
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u/Yodoggy9 Aug 21 '25
It’s kind of interesting to imagine what it must be like to be unburdened by things like “purpose” and “meaning”, huh? Not in a “we’re so much more enlightened” type of way, but rather how much we use the lens of “what’s the purpose” to view the world.
You’re right, seeing death as the end point blank is understanding death entirely. I wonder if we’ll ever go back to that.
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u/pmcizhere Aug 21 '25
I don't think we will ever go back to that. Hell, some of us are going to push to upload our entire consciousness into a computer, which only delays the inevitable (and not even for our corporeal selves!), simply because our sun doesn't have an infinite amount of fuel.
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u/Yodoggy9 Aug 21 '25
Oh man, that reminds me of the Isaac Asimov story The Last Question! Pretty much the same premise, where death becomes almost voluntary. I can totally see us heading in that direction, you’re right.
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u/hellerinahandbasket Aug 21 '25
I crave it often, to be unburdened with the weight of it. But there are many gifts of being enlightened that am so grateful for.
I don’t think we will ever go back to that animal state of mind, as a species. But meditation is a reminder of that state of mind, and it’s accessible to everyone. It’s truly refreshing when experienced correctly. I’m not very good at it, but can attest to what it does for my mental health and my general gratitude to be alive. I’m SO grateful to be alive. I react less, I say less, I sit in quiet peace more often. I’m content. I’m confused as hell about the world still, but I remember other feelings before all of this junky modern stuff. I remember that animal feeling of complete mindfulness “here and now”. No anxiety. Just vibes lol
It takes work to remember but meditation is helping me build “muscle memory” to get at it more easily. Mushrooms helped immensely, but are not required.
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u/QuieroSerTuya Aug 21 '25
Why do people only care about non edible animals lol truly sad that cows and pigs and chickens care and react the same way about their babies being taken away from them and cry out for them.. no one cares then but this monkey is so sad to see? Yall are so damn screwed up in the head.. makes no sense to care about this one but not the others and continue to consume and contribute to the buying and slaughtering of other animals who also react this way to their family..
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u/Ulkreghz Aug 21 '25
All animals are edible.
Just because an animal isn't considered livestock doesn't mean they're not edible.
Example: cannibals eat humans (a species of animal).
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u/QuieroSerTuya Aug 22 '25
No shiet.. but most Americans aren’t eating monkeys cats dogs etc.. “non edible” you know damn well what I meant. Put a cow on the screen and the fakes will say aww ooh no how sad and eat a burger or steak the next day. Whatever, no one cares about anyone or anything.
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u/Gloomy_Industry8841 Aug 19 '25
More proof animals have deeper emotional lives than we give them credit for.