A heartwarming clip featuring a chimpanzees The first meeting with his newborn two days after the female’s cesarean section took the internet by storm. When the primate’s natural labor stopped progressing, vets at the Kansas-based zoo performed an emergency birth via cesarean section, and the mother was devastated at the separation from the baby. Now, the new mom’s moment of joy during the online reunion has melted hearts.
The clip shared by Sedgwick County Zoo on Facebook shows the infant chimpanzee loosely wrapped in cloth. His mother enters the room and initially ignores the little one. But soon the baby’s hand appears and the mother, in a flash of instinct, picks up her child and hugs him tightly to her chest. The person recording the video can also be heard sobbing while watching the two.
“After almost two full days, Mahale and baby were reunited this morning! Mahale gave birth via emergency caesarean section after natural labor stopped working. The baby wasn’t breathing well on his own, so he remained in the hospital with the medical team until he could be reunited with his mother. #kucheza,” read the post from Sedgwick County Zoo.
Netizens were deeply moved by the clip, and many said they had trouble holding back tears. One user commented, “When she realizes her baby is here, it’s so touching. She cries tears of joy and sounds so relieved. She sounds and acts like any mother who has discovered that her child is alive and safe. So touching.” Another user wrote, “Oh I’m crying!!!! So sweet!!!! She was probably so confused and worried about where her baby was.”
Another video shared by the zoo on Facebook shows the chimpanzee mother breastfeeding her child. The zoo also said they named the baby Kucheza, which means to play in Swahili. “From the keepers straight: Mahale and baby are doing great and our boy has a name now! Kucheza (koo-CHAY-zuh) means “to play” in Swahili. In this video you can see a sweet moment between mother and son while he is breastfeeding. #kucheza,” read the Facebook post.
Giving a glimpse of the mother’s declaration of love for her baby, the zoo released another video and said the woman had not put the baby down since she met him. “Latest Keeper Cam Footage: Grooming, Smooch, Repeat. Mahale is THE most amazing mom. She hasn’t put the baby down since she first picked him up yesterday morning and they’re both in LOVE,” the post read.
As the mother couldn’t stop gushing about her baby, her union also won the hearts of zoo officials. “It’s one of the most powerful things I’ve ever seen. She knows it’s her baby lying there. The baby is very calm. She looks at it like, ‘What’s up?’ And as soon as he moves, you see the relief and the love and just, oh my god, it’s just amazing. Being a mom myself, it’s just, oh my god,” Jennica King, the zoo’s communications director, was quoted as saying by FOX TV Stations.
