A picture is worth a thousand words.

The adage a picture is worth a thousand words could not be more true then in a photograph by Monica Szczupider that ran with a story in the November 1^st issue of the N.Y. Post and appears in the November issue of National Geographic. The story deals with the life, and more amazing, the death of a chimpanzee named Dorothy who was rescued from horrific living conditions at a hotel, and brought to a Chimpanzee rescue center in West Africa. A story and photograph such as this makes you wonder why we as human beings, think we have carte blanche on emotion and feelings. Dorothy was brought to the sanctuary in 2000 at the age of 41. After a couple of years of being bullied and trying to adjust, an orphaned male chimpanzee named Bouboule began clinging to Dorothy, who quickly adopted him as her own. By taking on the task as Bouboule’s mother, Dorothy gained a new status in the group of Chimpanzees. Soon, Bouboule and another alpha male were respected as the top males, gaining Dorothy more status. On Sept. 22, 2008, Dorothy died at the age of 49. According to the story, the other chimps began touching Dorothy, smelling her, not wanting to leave her side, but what was most moving was the photograph. Sheri Speede, an American vet who founded the center is seen holding Dorothy’s head, while a center worker slowly pushes a wheel barrel containing Dorothy’s body, covered from the neck down past a large group of Chimpanzee’s huddled together, motionless as they peer through a fence watching Dorothy pass. The story goes on to say that the Chimpanzees were incredibly silent, arms around each other as Dorothy’s body past by. The story was very moving. The photograph told you everything you needed to know about the moment without reading a word.