But three weeks later, he went back to the spot where his mother had breathed her last and curled up in a fetal ball. Within a few days, he too was dead. In all probability, the youngster's death had been caused by the simian equivalent of that voice which tells humans going through a similar loss that there's nothing left to live for. Flint had been cut loose from his single bond to the superorganism. That separation had killed him.
Social attachment is just as vital to human beings.
Research psychiatrist Dr. George Engel collected 275 newspaper accounts of sudden death. He discovered that 156 had been caused by severe damage to social ties. In one instance, the president of a college had been forced to retire by the Board of Trustees at the age of 59. As he delivered his final speech, he collapsed with a heart attack. One of his closest friends, a doctor, rushed to the stage to save him.