the buzz log

There's a photo making its way around the Web. Maybe you've seen it. It features a chimpanzee being prepared for burial as a group of chimps look on, some attempting to comfort each other. The photo was featured in November's issue of National Geographic. Ever since it hit news stands, its been the target of Web searchers and bloggers.

National Geographic hosts a blog on the suddenly famous photo. The 40-year-old chimp who passed away was named Dorothy. Monica Szczupider, who snapped the photo, explains that Dorothy died of congestive heart failure. Because of her popularity with the other chimps, the caretakers at Cameroon’s Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center decided to let the group watch her being prepared for burial in the hopes they might understand that Dorothy would not be returning.

Ms. Szczupider explains that the reaction was not typical for a group of normally raucous chimps. As Dorothy was wrapped up and taken away, a silence fell over the group. There was some hollering, but for the most part, the chimps seemed to understand and respect the gravity of the situation.

Web searches on "chimp funeral" are climbing steadily. Additionally, blogs throughout the Buzz are picking up the story. Australia's Perth Now writes that the grief that the chimps seem to be experiencing can serve as additional evidence that "higher emotions" aren't just for human beings. You can see the photo here.