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Now THIS is the kind of video we all love to see.
November 18, 2022
The Guardian/TikTok
I hate to break it to you, but if you think you’re not the kind of person who cries during animal videos…well, today you’re gonna be that exact kind of person. In a viral TikTok that takes place at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas, a chimpanzee mom and baby are reunited after a long few days post-birth.
Related: Mom and gorilla bond over their babies at the zoo: ‘It was so beautiful’
According to the SCZ, Chimpanzee Mahale was laboring throughout the morning when the animal care team noticed changes in her progression. They made the decision to intervene with an emergency C-section, and the baby, named Kucheza, was safely delivered earlier this week.
“Drs. Laura Whisler and Janna Chibry of College Hill OB-GYN were on hand to perform the cesarean section with the zoo’s veterinary team,” the zoo said in a statement. “The pair have consulted with Sedgwick County Zoo veterinarians on all great ape pregnancies for the past decade — most recently delivering Sumatran Orangutan, Lily, via Csection in 2018.”
In the viral TikTok showing the reunion between Mahale and baby Kucheza, you can see Mama as she slowly approaches her baby, who is all wrapped up and snug. Then Kucheza thrusts his little hand in the air, and that was all Mama needed to see before leaping to embrace her swaddled baby.
Baby Kucheza, meaning play in Swahili, was welcomed back into his mother’s arms after a two-day medical observation. 💕
You can hear the zoo workers crying in the background over the emotional moment, and it’s not hard to see why (raise your hand if you’re dabbing your own damp eyeballs, too).
Related: This viral TikTok of a gorilla meeting his keeper’s baby for the first time is the antidote to your doomscrolling
The zoo says Mahale is recovering well, and that after having lower-than-normal oxygen levels, Kucheza responded well to bottle feedings from the zoo staff before reuniting with his mom.
The video is going viral all over social media, with people on Twitter sharing their big feelings about the beautiful moment as well.
That sound she makes when she realizes it's her baby😭😭😭
Oh naw I would’ve had to excuse myself pic.twitter.com/8pGKrqZ8mN
O my heart. The way she grabbed her baby with such relief and joy. ❤️
She was nervous until she saw it moved. Then pure maternal instinct kicked in. Great!🥰
Stop it!! The best thing on Twitter right now! The baby raising it’s hand, the mumma jumping into action! Pure love!
Motherly 2022 ®