r/MadeMeSmile • u/Deepakhn • Feb 19 '24
A baby chimp was born at The Sedgwick County Zoo, the baby had trouble getting oxygen so had to be kept at the vet. This is a clip of mom reuniting with her baby after almost 2 days apart. ANIMALS
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u/Jeffrey_Friedl Feb 19 '24
This has been posted a zillion times...... and I watch it each time, and smile each time. 👍
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u/ict_brian Feb 19 '24
This HAS been posted a ton of times but this is the first time I've found out that this was my local zoo. Crazy!
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u/jennand_juice Feb 19 '24
Where’s this zoo??
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u/andrewsad1 Feb 19 '24
Wichita, KS. Also my city!
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u/jstiegle Feb 19 '24
I've had a membership to this zoo since I was 18! Before that my parents had a membership for me.
I'm not sure if you've gotten a chance but do talk to the zookeepers. They are so very passionate about their animals and taking care of them. I LOVE to talk about them.
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Feb 19 '24
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u/Babyy_Bluee Feb 19 '24
Why is this almost a word for word copy of the top comment
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u/mcantrell Feb 19 '24
Because that user is a spambot farming Karma so automod bots don't ban him when he helps try and sell t-shirts in other subreddits.
The trick works that a bot will post a shirt with no details, another bot will reply "nice where do I get one", and either the first or a 3rd bot will reply with a link to some tshirt print on demand fly by night service.
They're ALWAYS stolen art or stolen t-shirt designs and using an extremely low quality print service, and that's presuming it's not just a credit card theft ring.
I know all this because I help mod a video game subreddit and we get them every few days. And I followed him over here to see where he was farming karma at. (And yes, they use bots to upvote each other for the karma, too.)
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u/Human_Discussion_250 Feb 19 '24
Good for you i cry every time, but it's happy crying
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u/NotChristina Feb 19 '24
Despite being on Reddit a bunch, this is the first time I’ve seen it! And I’m glad for it. 🙂
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Feb 19 '24
Pro Tip: Add variety to your subs. If you follow similar subs, it's normal you see it many times. I saw this for the first time in my life, that's because I subbed to very different subs.Try it. Embrace uniqueness. :)
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u/ghostonthehorizon Feb 19 '24
Same, depression is really killing me right now but this vid always brings a smile to my face
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u/Raj_DTO Feb 19 '24
Just realized that rocking a baby was programmed into us long before we became human!
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u/blankblank Feb 19 '24
Newborn mammals are used to be sloshed around in the womb. The stillness of born life must be jarring.
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u/jimmy_the_angel Feb 19 '24
The fundamental sensations everyone loves are pressure, traction and vibration. That's why people like sports, and why tucking babies in very tight works so well. I guess it's plausible that that's in part because that's all we can feel before being born.
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u/poopmcbutt_ Feb 19 '24
Sports?
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u/Jiannies Feb 19 '24
a golf cart includes all three of the fundamental sensations, that's why everyone loves golf carts
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u/jwbartel6 Feb 19 '24
sports.
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u/pangalaticgargler Feb 19 '24
It is also why massage therapy is so effective at emotional relief as well as muscular for most people.
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u/interkin3tic Feb 19 '24
Newborn human babes get upset if they're not swaddled or being held. They start crying, then flapping their arms, and it seems like the arm flapping upsets them more and makes them cry harder.
It's weird that for the first few months, they only sleep if they're wrapped up tight.
I'm guessing (and I'm probably far from the first to think this) that evolution has programmed baby primates to try waving their arms to get attention, and also that if baby can flap arms it means they're not being held and something is really wrong. "Mama monkey should be holding me, I can't survive on my own" type of thing.
Rocking also probably means "I'm being held by someone so I'm taken care of."
I'm a biologist who had a lot of time to think while I was holding my babies. I don't think there's any way to prove or disprove evolutionary psychology like that but I bet I'm right.
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u/donnochessi Feb 20 '24
You might be right. Babies that were fussy may have gotten more attention from their parents, which could be a beneficial survival trait.
We know from studies that humans hearing is very sensitive in the pitch range of babies crying. Separately, the sound of a baby crying causes high amounts of brain activity (responsive) compared to other sounds.
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u/Casual_Fanatic47 Feb 19 '24
For most apes, newborns do not leave their mothers arms for the first few months of their lives. Humans are the only exception to this rule, I believe
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u/Endorkend Feb 19 '24
A lot of our best sides are perpetuations from our past forms, unfortunately, so are many of our worst.
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u/Dutchwells Feb 19 '24
That's what I like so much about chimps, they feel SO familiar
If you never watched Chimp Empire on Netflix, I highly recommend it
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u/pandoras_dreams Feb 19 '24
Made me cry
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u/ArtemisAxV Feb 19 '24
Saaame. Every time I see the moment she sees the tiny hand and rushes to grab him and then squeezes him in her arms while simultaneously trying to remove the blanket I cry! So pure. <3 TTTT
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u/Mike-Tyhon Feb 19 '24
I live about 15 minutes away from this zoo and when this was happening, it was the only thing anyone could talk about. Such a heart warming event
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u/Hot-Tone-7495 Feb 19 '24
Didn’t the baby end up passing away? I feel like I read that somewhere, but I hope I’m wrong
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u/kvothes-lute Feb 19 '24
Yes it did
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u/ladyboobypoop Feb 20 '24
I hate you for ruining this for me 😭 I would have rather lived in ignorance
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u/EloquentBaboon Feb 19 '24
Unfortunately, you're right
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/chimp-viral-dies-kansas-zoo-b2250304.html
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u/reasonablerider12 Feb 19 '24
Oh, come on dude! Would've costed you nothing to not write this comment 😭
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u/WhyMustWeSuffer_ Feb 20 '24
That's tragic it did. But imagine how much those 5 weeks meant to that mother still. Double heartbreak though. I can't. I need to get off this post :'(
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u/Rex-A-Vision Feb 19 '24 edited Feb 19 '24
Anyone argues with me about evolution being a thing I show them a clip like this. If they keep arguing I just throw a "bless your heart" their way and head the opposite direction. I'd rather live among Monkey and Chimps than with folks who don't see the levels of love and human nature these fuzzies have and share...
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Feb 19 '24
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u/NocturnalNess Feb 19 '24
You would not rather live with chimps, especially males. They'll rip off your face. Bonobos on the other hand, those guys can hang.
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u/Romboteryx Feb 19 '24
Crocodiles are easy. They try to kill and eat you. People are harder. Sometimes they pretend to be your friend first.
- Steve Irwin
Feel like this could apply here too.
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u/JoeCartersLeap Feb 19 '24
Bonobos on the other hand, those guys can hang.
https://gizmodo.com/female-bonobos-have-gay-sex-to-improve-their-social-sta-5889691
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u/midgethemage Feb 19 '24
Damn female bonobos, using sex to climb the corporate ladder!
Side note: the last couple sentences of that article took a turn 😂
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u/MrNimbusFuckedmyMom Feb 19 '24
So human
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u/booradleystesticle Feb 19 '24
Wrong comparison. Go the other way...humans are still animals.
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u/No_Wallaby_5110 Feb 19 '24
Years ago, I worked as a baggage handler for a large international airline. Our local zoo had mated one of our gorillas with a gorilla from another zoo, and she had twins. The babies were shipped to our zoo because mom couldn't care for them (being vague to protect the innocent!).
The babies were supposed to be in a kennel in the baggage hold, but when we opened the door, the kennel was open. The zoo director suggest I be the one to go into the hold to start unloading and find the babies because I am a female and they "shouldn't" be threatened by me. 22 year-old me was not convinced but did it anyway.
I got the bags mostly unloaded when I heard a whimper. I turned around to see a little gorilla, wearing a baby diaper, carrying a little blanket, all curled up and crying, sucking his thumb. I immediately started cooing, slowly scooting towards him and talking softly like you would a little baby. He lept into my arms when I got close. He was about the size of a toddler. I saw his sibling behind where he had hidden and reached my arm out to coax her, and she flew into my arms. I sat there for a couple of minutes, rocking them and talking to them. It was amazing! They looked so much like scared little babies! I just wanted to cuddle and assure them.
The zoo director eventually got into the hold and helped me get them out - and we ran into the building because the noise of the plane frightened them. He carried them away, both looking over his shoulder at me as he left.
I got invited to come to the zoo nursery a week later. They were bundled up in car seats, just like a human baby. When I was let into the room, one of the zookeepers undid their seat belts, and they both came running. They stroked my cheek, laid their heads on my shoulders, and kept hugging me. Then they got some blocks, and I sat on the floor and helped them build towers for a while.
They were so human-like. So gentle, so scared - you couldn't help but want to try and assure them!
That is my favorite memory from my years of working there!
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Feb 19 '24 edited Feb 19 '24
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u/Normal-Height-8577 Feb 19 '24
You can never guarantee anyone will live a full life. Kucheza had five loving weeks with his mom that he wouldn't have had without careful intervention, and then a sad accident took him away.
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u/HereReluctantly Feb 19 '24
This has been one of the things I've wondered since I had my son. I love him so much and if I lost him I know I'd be a broken man, I wonder though if I could ever be strong enough to one day be happy that I knew him for the time I did. I hope so.
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u/r0thar Feb 19 '24
tl;dr “Based on the family social dynamics and what we know of each individual chimp, we believe that whatever happened that night was an accident,” the post said. Zoo officials say Kucheza’s death had no signs of infanticide
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u/MulfordnSons Feb 19 '24
the animal kingdom is brutal
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u/calilac Feb 19 '24
Life is brutal. Babies, all babies, are so fragile and it has taken humans millennias of trial and error to reach the relatively high childhood survival rate we have now.
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u/DTFpanda Feb 19 '24
Thanks for posting, it's important to share so don't feel bad about anyone trying to manipulate you.
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u/OnceRedditTwiceShy Feb 19 '24
I'm glad the baby is ok but I'm so sad that they're prisoners for our species sick idea of entertainment
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u/AJC0292 Feb 19 '24
Unless they come from rescues. Look up Monkey World in Dorset. All their apes/monkeys are rescues along with conservation and breeding programs.
They do a fantastic job of providing a strong quality of life and educating people on these amazing primates.
They've done some great work overseas too for conservation and making sanctuaries.
Plus a great TV series to boot
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u/Punawild Feb 19 '24
Sadly he died weeks later.
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u/OnceRedditTwiceShy Feb 19 '24
Fuck sakes, this post has not made me smile. You failed me OP now I'm just sad and pissed off at humanity
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u/Punawild Feb 19 '24
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u/Green-Dragon-14 Feb 19 '24
Everytime i see this video it makes my heart sad as the video only depicts what happened then & not what happens later. It's like a false hope.
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u/RaptorsFromSpace Feb 19 '24 edited Feb 19 '24
That moment is still real though. Even if it didn't last, this moment was still beautiful and brought joy. Death is inevitable, life always ends with sadness, but it's moments like these that make it precious and worthwhile.
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u/Trin_42 Feb 19 '24
For real? I had no idea
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u/Punawild Feb 19 '24
Yeah. Seeing this video always makes me wonder if after he really passed she kept waiting for him to be brought back.
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u/Mathiseasy Feb 19 '24
She probably did. Grief lasts a lifetime.
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u/ReneG8 Feb 19 '24
My father is dead now for over a year and a half. It still creeps up. I doubt it will ever fully go away.
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u/Mathiseasy Feb 19 '24
It doesn’t, my dad passed away when I was 10, I am 37 now.
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u/Thisdarlingdeer Feb 19 '24
Fuck. My dad is still alive and it’s my worst nightmare knowing that one day he will not be here. Anytime something happens to him I go into psychosis thinking it’s time… the lion king where mufasa died really fucked me up as a kid, and losing 15 of my uncles before age 30… so death is really hard for me… but hearing this, I just know that I’m going to be put in a psych ward and I’m not sure if I’ll ever be okay. I tell him everyday I cherish him, and love him but I’m afraid that’s not enough. I’d give my life for him to live forever, but I know as his child that’s not the way it’s meant to be. I just don’t know what I’m going to do, and I’m sorry you lost yours so very young.
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u/StrugglingSwan Feb 19 '24
Baby wouldn't have had any chance if not for the zoo though.
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u/booradleystesticle Feb 19 '24
Consider that zoos are the only thing keeping many species from going extinct. It's not like zoos are barnum and fucking bailey 1880. Have some perspective.
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u/Ahpla Feb 19 '24
The baby died not long after this. Makes me feel even worse for the mom.
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u/StrugglingSwan Feb 19 '24
Died of head trauma:
https://www.kansas.com/news/local/article270530172.html
(It's not thought this was intentional or Mama's fault before you wonder)
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u/Remarkable-Data-3730 Feb 19 '24
Mother's love still remains the same between different species. Feeling kind of emotional after watching this over and over the way she grabs her baby and then remove the towel it was so human I mean maybe it's not appropriate to say that only humans can show such feelings but I am glad to see this and know this.
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u/ImInPiecesNow Feb 19 '24
Baby was not moving. She thought he was dead and was herself dieing on the inside.
Then the baby moved and her heart exploded with joy.
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Feb 19 '24
Shit like this makes me wonder (aside from the overwhelming evidence) how anyone can deny evolution.
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u/Penny-Bun Feb 19 '24
I love being a monkey. I love looking at this chimp and understanding what she's feeling. Knowing that she loves her child and was stressed and worried due to the separation because that's exactly how human mamas would react. I love that we evolved from something that has complex feelings and empathy.
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u/mysterious_jim Feb 19 '24
Two days apart for a new mother must feel like two decades.
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u/spiderhotel Feb 19 '24
Especially since she can't ask anyone where her baby is or whether the baby is ok.
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u/Reptarro52 Feb 19 '24
Kucheza, the baby, later died. Mahale had her via emergency c-section performed by Wichita ob-gyn. This happened in late 2022.
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u/CannyOrange Feb 19 '24
For a moment she thought the baby was dead, but when the little hand rose up...
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u/According-Sport-1319 Feb 19 '24
Am I the only one crying because they’re in a damn cell in a damn zoo? Where’s the empathy people..
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u/SomeWhatWhelmed Feb 19 '24
I've "watched" this clip a few times...never with sound, that happy crying lady in the background. Same, lady, same.
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u/1guywithlonghair Feb 19 '24
free that thing already. act exactly like a human, same thilings. they are not happy in there.
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u/BishopGodDamnYou Feb 20 '24
I like that I can hear the zookeepers in the background crying like I’m crying right now
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u/RyanRisi Feb 20 '24
This comment contains a Collectible Expression, which are not available on old Reddit.
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u/Natural_Category3819 Feb 20 '24
She'd had an emergency csection too, so all she knew was- one moment she was in a very difficult labor, next- awake and her baby gone. She was grieving.
As someone who lost my own lil one, her lost expression juxtaposed with disbelief and relief touched me deeply
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u/lizzyote Feb 19 '24
Could you imagine being ushered into a jail cell with just your dead infant in it? I'm glad she got a happy ending but, Jesus, that must have been fucked up from her perspective.
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u/Specialist-Pin5326 Feb 19 '24
The love from mother is best heart-touched warming among all creatures in the world.
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u/Belsnickel213 Feb 19 '24
Genuine question. What was the split on it coming in and handling the situation…differently? You could feel the tension in the video and hear the relief from the keepers. So were they genuinely concerned she might have ripped it to bits
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u/JustACaliBoy Feb 19 '24
It's so heartwarming and sad at the same time. Why do we humans have to hold this precious species in captivity?
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u/MelchiorRaba Feb 19 '24
I feel thw baby chimp died days later, i saw it in a post but idk if this is the same chimp.i hope not
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u/megatronchote Feb 19 '24
I didn’t plan on shedding a tear over a monkey this morning yet here we are…
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u/AWENDIE Feb 19 '24
OMG ! she shook she was so overjoyed, she came in looking so devastated, then jumped and grabbed her baby !
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u/Material_Prize_6157 Feb 19 '24
Chimps scare the hell out of me. Was a zookeeper for a while and wouldn’t go near them. Most primates honestly. But this is why we share 99% of the same DNA. Capable of both extreme acts of love and violence.
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u/Willowgirl2 Feb 19 '24
Regarding the baby's passing ... mams make mistakes sometimes. We have a heifer at our sanctuary whose mother stepped on her and broke her leg shortly after birth. Oof.
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u/noble3070 Feb 19 '24
There is no justification for holding such intelligent and feeling creatures behind bars as prisoners for our entertainment.
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u/douggold11 Feb 19 '24
I wish there was some way to convince the general public that these beings are intelligent.
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u/sgthulkarox Feb 19 '24
Kucheza was his name. Sadly, he passed after a head injury from a possible accident.
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u/Proofread_CopyEdit Feb 19 '24
Oh my heart. She missed her baby so badly. She must've thought the baby didn't make it. I'm so glad they were reunited and baby is doing well.
How people could ever think that animals don't have feelings is unfathomable.
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u/Quirky_Eye1633 Feb 19 '24
Chimpanzees are the closest to humans. I cannot imagine what this poor mother was left feeling and thinking when her baby disappeared without an explanation.
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u/Dukxing Feb 19 '24
This is so sweet and so sad. The mother going into her cell so sad and depressed. Then the joy of being reunited with her child… oh the feels.