A trip to the Franklin Park Zoo ended up being more than just a fun outing for Emmelina and Michael Austin. They took their one month old baby Canyon along and stopped at the gorilla enclosure where a mother gorilla named Kiki came right up to the glass.
Kiki leaned in close and kept her eyes on the baby. She touched the glass softly, just staring with that kind of look that another mom would understand, and it was clear she was fascinated. It felt like she already knew to be extra gentle.
Kiki was also a new mom herself and she had her 7 month old son Pablo. She seemed like she wanted to share him too. Michael explained: “My wife held up our son to show to Kiki, who was on the other side of the enclosure … then Kiki grabbed Pablo and put him on her leg to carry him over to us.”
For a few minutes the two mothers sat there together with their babies, one on each side of the glass. Emmelina said she could sense how much Kiki cared for Pablo now that she had become a mom herself, it felt like she understood it in a new way.
It didn’t matter that one of them was human and the other was a gorilla, they still had that same kind of bond.
Michael remembered how Pablo pushed his face right up against the glass so their noses almost touched. He said both he and his wife had tears in their eyes when they saw it happen, it hit them harder than they expected. It was one of those moments where you just feel connected even without words.
Later Michael posted the video online even though he only had a couple hundred subscribers at the time. It didn’t stay small for long because the clip spread fast and ended up being seen by millions. He said: “It was one of the most amazing experiences. Such an incredible memory to share with our son someday!”
Watch what happened in the following video: