Families will be reunited for Thanksgiving all over America this week, and that is also true for a mother and her child at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas.
The mother is 28-year-old chimpanzee named Mahale. She recently gave birth to a baby, but according to KSAT News, her labor stalled and she had to have an emergency C-section. The mother was separated from her baby for several days. She must have been thoroughly confused with what happened and felt trauma. She had given birth naturally twice before.
But when she was reunited with her baby, it produced a heartwarming moment for all of us.
At first, Mahale doesn’t realize her baby is there, then the baby male chimp lifts a tiny hand and boy do Mahale’s motherly instincts kick in.
Many were brought to tears by the display and the clip went viral. The mother scoops the baby chimp named Kucheza up. That name is Swahili for “play.” The two became inseparable cuddling, nursing, and grooming all day long.
“Mahale is THE MOST amazing mama,” shared the zoo. “She hasn’t put baby down since she first picked him up yesterday morning and the two are IN LOVE.”
The zoo has been posting regular updates on its Facebook page, with photos and videos of Kucheza and Mahale.
The clip of this lovefest has more than 30,000 comments.
“Oh my goodness!! Sobbing!! The way she sees that little hand and rushes to hold her baby!! So beautiful!! Thank you for sharing,” wrote one person.
“Aw man, I remember seeing my baby for the first time after waking up from an emergency c section,” shared another. “I just started to cry and held him to my face. This is so sweet.”
“Thanks so much to our dedicated keepers and staff for 48 hours of hard work to make this birth possible,” wrote another. “We appreciate each of you so much. Also a heartfelt thank you to the Wichita doctors that attended to momma’s surgery. We are blessed!”
Watch:
Nurses at Sedgwick County zoo in Kansas captured this video showing the moment a chimp, Mahale, saw her baby, Kucheza, after 2 days. She gave birth via emergency C-section. If you haven’t seen this yet~ you MUST! Mother’s LOVE ❤️ https://t.co/zDULnpp0Io
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