CELEBRITY animals, such as pandas, usually draw more attention from the public than nonstar animals which live in anonymity, without fans coming especially for them. But heartfelt obituaries in some zoos make people aware of the existence of more animals.

Published earlier this year at the Hongshan Forest Zoo in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, an obituary detailed the last days of a sun bear’s 33-year life and the interactions between the animal and the zookeepers.

“Since the beginning of winter in 2022, the bear’s food intake decreased, and he often slept for a whole day. To help him survive the winter, the keepers and the vets provided a warm straw nest for him and heated up his favorite vegetable mush,” reads the obituary.

Guo Chenxu, the bear’s zookeeper, penned the obituary. His handwriting was neat and clear, an excellent match with his aspiration to treat animals with care and dignity.

“We still remember when Laoma the bear first entered the outer field of the bear house. It was a beautiful sunny spring. He sat next to the flowers and looked up at the butterflies. The warm wind blew, quietly accompanying him,” Guo wrote.

These sentimental words went viral on social media and were reposted by multiple Chinese news outlets.

In the past, the public rarely had a chance to see how zoos recorded and released the death information of their animals. They passed away invisibly and silently. But now, Laoma is very much known to the world.

Writing an obituary has become a routine for Guo’s colleagues to express mourning for their deceased animal friends. In September 2020, the zoo wrote an obit for a river deer called Zijin, saying the animal had a friendly, calm and cooperative personality, and “always took the lead in eating when meals were served.”

Recounting the details of an animal’s life is a crucial comfort for the keepers to get through grief. “Although Laoma has left us, we will take the attitude of life that the bear taught us, constantly improve ourselves with gratitude and take good care of every life,” the bear’s obit said.

The latest death notice posted by the Hongshan Forest Zoo was for a bird, which was rescued from the wild by the zookeepers but died in February after being caged with other species. “This is a warning about the safety of mixing animals in small spaces. How to reduce the risk needs our more professional and continuous assessment and attention,” said the obit, which is still on display at the zoo.

(Xinhua)