According to a post in Shareinator, a lion at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago appears to have committed suicide a few days ago after the death of her longtime mate.

She and the male lion had been together for more than a decade according to the staff at Brookfield and they would often be seen grooming each other.

William Zeigler is the senior vice president of animal programs at Brookfield and had this to say:

“Right now it’s just a tragic accident and we’re trying to make heads or tails of it,” said Zeigler. “It’s been very traumatic having to deal with Zenda and now having to deal with this loss, which was totally unexpected. The animal-care staff is so bonded with their cats, it’s like you with a housecat. It’s been hard for them.”

This is certainly a sad story and it reminds me of a video I saw of a dog seeming to weep after the death of his brother.

It’s interesting how mammals feel connection to other animals, and to people, in ways that humans can relate.

There are different types of loss that humans feel deeply and they include more than losing someone to death.

They include a loss of a relationship with someone.

Some have argued that when someone chooses to end their relationship with you that it’s more difficult than when you lose someone to death.

At least death wasn’t something that they desired.

As a relationship coach, I work with people who are in mourning as this lion was for her mate who was put down by the zoo because of a severe back injury that left him in misery.

They are mourning because their boyfriend or girlfriend chose a life without them and they are hoping that there will come a time when the two of them can get back together.

Loss is a powerful force that can motivate us, cause a panic, and pull someone into a dark depression where all we can feel is the loss.

Sometimes loss is confused with love. Though they are separate, the loss of love can often be felt in place of the love itself.

When a loved one dies, the love between us and them can live on.

And we must not let the loss overpower their love even if they are gone. Love lives on.

It’s not the same after a breakup. Interestingly enough the person who wants to leave the relationship often must feel the loss before they want to come back.

So in that way, loss can be an ally to the one wanting to get back together.

The lion who jumped to her death because she didn’t feel she could live without her mate gave into the loss. She might have even caused other lions who were close to her to feel loss from her death.

But it’s certainly difficult to be critical of someone hurting like that. Even if that someone is an animal.

All we can do is to provide our own love to help. /randonthoughts