Oct15
Rest in Peace, Dorothy
Posted at 12:11 PM | Permalink
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Comments (18)
Having managed to survive the horrors of an estimated 25 to 40 years of captivity and exploitation as part of a daily amusement-park parade, Dorothy the chimpanzee died peacefully of old age at In Defense of Animals (IDA) Africa's Sanaga-Yong Center in Cameroon last month.
Following the first armed confiscation of primates in Cameroon, Dorothy was freed from her confinement at the amusement park and taken to Sanaga-Yong in 2000.
So touched by Dorothy's life and parting, staff members and chimpanzees held a funeral service to honor and remember her. Dorothy was buried beside the enclosure she had called home, near the tomb of her friend Becky.
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In her memory, we have donated money to help construct a raised platform above Dorothy's former home. The platform will allow visitors to the center to see into the forested enclosure and reflect on Dorothy's life, both at the center and before her stay there.
Posted by Sean Conner
TAGGED:
monkey business chimpanzees Dorothy ida Africa
Comments
Heartbreaking story. I'm still in awe at the first picture - I can read the sadness in the monkey's faces better than the peoples.
Posted by: Aneliese | October 15, 2008 11:47 AM
Wow, that top picture says it all. Anyone who looks at that pic and can't see the emotional depth and communicative skills of animals lives in a state of denial.
Posted by: Mike Quinoa | October 15, 2008 12:48 PM
CAN'T STOP CRYING! You can just see the love from the other chimps and humans for Dorothy. I'm so glad she got to live her finale years in peace with other free chimps. I'm so glad that those people at IDA were so good to her ! They have my love and respect for helping the chimps!
Posted by: SASHA | October 15, 2008 02:24 PM
These fellow earthlings of ours are so beautiful, in life and death. They can teach humans a lot about so-called "humanity", if only people would truly listen.
Posted by: Michele | October 15, 2008 03:02 PM
@Mike Quinoa
Yeah the first picture is pretty depressing.
Posted by: Ben Y. | October 15, 2008 03:09 PM
HEY EVERYONE - I JUST WENT TO THERE WEB-SITE AND IT'S GREAT. YOU CAN SPONSER ONE OF THE CHIMPS THAT LIVE THERE. JUST GOOGLE IN -> IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS AFRICA'S SANAGA-YONG CENTER. It's a great place for rescued chimps.
Posted by: SASHA | October 15, 2008 03:33 PM
I have tears in my eyes for Dorothy's passing. I love all animals and hate any kind of abuse, torture, neglect, and just plain cruelty. I belong to IDA and it is a wonderful organization. I am glad they gave Dorothy 8 years of happiness and also happy that she died of old age and not because of any type of injury inflicted by humans..
Posted by: rex's mom | October 15, 2008 04:17 PM
Wow. Thanks for posting this.
Posted by: Marta | October 15, 2008 04:28 PM
This immediately brought tears to my eyes. I'm so glad that precious animal got to have happiness before her passing. Thanks again PETA for another moving posting.
Posted by: Courtney | October 15, 2008 05:56 PM
An amazing and very touching story. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Posted by: eddy | October 15, 2008 07:49 PM
Wow. What Mike Quinoa said. That picture truly speaks one thousand words.
Posted by: vegancoin | October 15, 2008 07:59 PM
Goodbye, Dorothy. You'll be sadly missed.
It's soooo nice to see humans recognize the great dignity of all animals.
Posted by: lynda downie | October 16, 2008 12:28 AM
It's amazing how animals keep showing us their feelings!! I really love the first picture!
Posted by: Tania | October 16, 2008 10:39 AM
This touching picture showing the silent honoring of their dead friend is another proof that animals have deep loving feelings - above all primates, cats, dogs, cows, horses, elefants but also guinea pigs and all the others! And every species has their own language; the horses for example talk much through their throat and the nostrils and from my cat i learned about 30 words till now in catish! People should develop more fast in order to understand the animal language! They have to tell us sooooooooo much! We have to admit that the creation procedure has not yet ended - we are still on the way and humans and animals need to evoluate a lot! But in a future time they shall understand each other and be perfect and know! Then the famous words spoken by universal genious Leonardo da Vinci shall become true: There shall come a day when humans shall respect every form of life and treat every animal as they treat their own species! Maybe we shall not live that future day - but we can work for it!!!
Posted by: SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION | October 16, 2008 12:14 PM
Wow that is sad.. I am tearing up! I'm also glad she got to live out the rest of her life happily!! that's awesome! those primates are amazing!
Posted by: arizona | October 16, 2008 03:36 PM
The photo in which the other animals are watching her go is heartbreaking, but it just shows how animals care about each other. They feel pain just as much as we do.
Posted by: Annie | October 16, 2008 03:40 PM
RIP, Dorothy.
Posted by: Mary | October 16, 2008 04:02 PM
What Mike Quinoa said is so true. Rest in peace Dorothy. That first picture says it all.
Posted by: Bunnylove | October 19, 2008 07:49 PM