(public domain photo from www.pixabay.com)
In her book, Awaken My Heart, Andrea Miller has an interview with anthropologist Jane Goodall who is considered the world's foremost authority on chimpanzees. Ms. Miller asked Goodall what "evidence" she uncovered which demonstrates that animals can feel compassion of love.
"I’ll give you one story. There was an infant chimpanzee named Mel. He was three and should still have been riding on his mother’s back, sleeping with her at night, and suckling. but his mother died. If he’d had an older brother or sister, he would have been adopted by that individual, but he didn’t, so he was on his own and we thought he’d die. Then he was adopted by Spindle, an unrelated male who was twelve, which is about like being a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old human. Spindle let little Mel ride on his back. If it was cold or Mel was frightened, he let him cling to his belly as a mother would. If Mel crept up to his nest at night and made whimpering sounds, Spindle reached out and drew him in. They slept curled up together. When Mel begged, whimpering with his hand out, Spindle would share his food. And most dramatic of all, Spindle protected Mel....There is no question that Spindle saved Mel’s life."
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