• A monkey that a man was feeding and giving love and attention to, went to his funeral.
• As the man’s family and friends surrounded his body, the monkey gently laid its hands on his face and even kissed him.
• The mourning monkey was expressing his grief over the man’s death.

In life, 56-year-old Peetambaram Rajan loved everyone, not just people but animals as well with equal treatment.

When he suddenly died from an illness, people from all walks of life came to give their respects.  Among them, a monkey that he fed and treated well. 

The local gray langur appeared at the funeral and perched near the head of the man.  It seemed to take in the sight and the sounds around it before it gently touched the face of the dead man.

She was clearly grieving as she smelled the hand that she used to touch the man with.  She then bent down and kissed the man’s face.  And as if she could not believe that the man was no longer reaching out for her, she grabbed the man’s hands.

It was heart wrenching to see the sadness on her face as she looked at Peetambaram Rajan.  She had lost a friend.

As humans, we express our grief and sadness in words and tears. Animals express themselves in actions and in their faces.  But we all feel pain and sorrow. 

As animal behaviorist Dr. Mark Bekoff wrote in Psychology Today, “There is no doubt that many animals experience rich and deep emotions.” He added, “It’s not a matter of if emotions have evolved in animals but why they have evolved as they have. We must never forget that our emotions are the gifts of our ancestors, our animal kin.”

He concluded that humans have feelings and so do other animals.  And grief is something we clearly display no matter what species. 

Source: The Dodo