1/2 Mom with baby (Photo: Peter van Glabbeek)
A mother gibbon and her cub died in the Nuenen Zoo on Thursday. Mom was sick and zookeepers had to put the baby to sleep. “One of the most difficult decisions we have ever had to make together,” writes the Animal Kingdom.
It came as a bolt from the blue for the caregivers. In the morning, the mother gibbon, named Kanette, was found in poor condition. The employees do not yet know what exactly happened. “The doctor acted immediately and examined the 30-year-old monkey with an ultrasound and blood tests.” But that was too late. Mama monkey died.
“The death of his mother would cause her young one to become isolated.”
Then came an inhumane choice. Mama Kanette had another young one: a baby boy monkey. “What would happen next for the animal that barely left its mother’s side?”, the Animal Kingdom thought. Father gibbons do not naturally take over this care. “The death of his mother would leave her little one isolated and deprived of the warmth, social stimulation and nurturing he needs to live a good life.”
That’s why they put the little monkey to sleep, with his well-being in mind. An incredibly sad choice, they say.