The Story of Flo, an Aging Chimpanzee Mother

Flo, inevitably, began to show her age. She wasn't strong enough to wean Flint when the time came, nor to care for her new infant Flame, born when Flint was only four and a half years old (the normal birth interval is five years or more). Flame disappeared during a time when Flo was too ill even to climb into a nest. Though she recovered somewhat after Flame's death, she did not have the strength to discipline Flint, who insisted on riding on her back and sleeping in her nest. When Flo died in 1972, Flint, abnormally dependent on his old mother, fell into a state of depression. Lethargic and gaunt, he was not interested in eating. Jane poignantly described Flint's last days in Through a Window: "The last journey he made, pausing to rest every few feet, was to the very place where Flo's body had lain. There he stayed for several hours, sometimes staring and staring into the water. Fie struggled on a little further, then curled up—and never moved again."

Jane Goodall, 50 Years at Gombe (2010-10-01)

• chimpanzee
• chimpanzees
• family
• family values
• primates