Mom and gorilla bond over their babies at the zoo: ‘It was so beautiful’

Motherhood knows no bounds.

When Kiki the gorilla spotted a new mom and baby visiting her habitat at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, she immediately took a liking to the pair. Emmelina Austin held her five-week-old son Canyon to the glass so Kiki could get a better look.

The gorilla spent nearly five minutes happily pointing and staring at baby Canyon.

Emmelina’s husband captured the sweet moment on his phone, in a video that’s now gone viral.

Why was Kiki the gorilla so interested in her tiny visitor? Possibly because Kiki’s a new mom herself. Her fifth baby, Pablo, was born in October.

Near the end of the video, Kiki scooped up Pablo and held him close. The new moms held their baby boys to the glass and shared a special moment together: just a couple of mothers, showing off their little ones.

“When I walked into the zoo that day, I never could’ve imagined that we would have had that experience,” Austin told ABC News. “It was so beautiful, and we walked out just over the moon.”

We can’t get enough of the sweet exchange. There’s something special about sharing your little one with the world. Mothers of all ages, races–and it turns out, species–understand.

A version of this post was originally published May 11, 2021. It has been updated.

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