Sad – Snowflake Melting

An albino gorilla billed as the world’s only such specimen is dying
of skin cancer.

Since veterinarians broke the bad news, giving the primate
just months
to live, people have been filing by his cage at Bacelona Zoo to say goodbye.

Copito de Nieve (Snowflake) was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2001 but
the disease has progressed suddenly and is no longer controllable, said
the zoo’s chief veterinarian, Jesus Fernandez.

"Being albino, he’s very sensitive to the sun. Though we’ve tried our best
to protect him this is an incurable, progressive disease, and it will
follow its natural course. We don’t know how long he’ll live, but probably not
more than a few months," he said.

This is the saddest story I have read in quite a while. What a magnificant, magical, mythical creature. Couldn’t
decide whether to blog it, as it is not at all im my usual lighthearted
vein. But
the look on Snowflake’s face in so sad, and strikes me as, well, more
human than most of the paralytic plastic facades I face on a daily basis.
The saddness is somewhat ameliorated, and a quiet cloak of dignity
added to Snowflake’s story by the following final paragraph.

Copito is thought to be between 38 and 40, equivalent to 80 human years.
Gorillas, only live until about 25 in the wild.

If only Copito de Nieve had had a Blog…

from Ananova