Motherhood is the great connector. It's truly a shared human experience that can bring us together, no matter who we are. But not only can it bring humans together, it can bring any two species of mothers together. That much became evident during one woman's trip to a local zoo, where she bonded with a mother gorilla over her newborn human baby.
The new mom, Emmily Austin of Jefferson, Maine, was visiting the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston with her 5-week-old son, Canyon. That's when she shared a magical few minutes with Kiki, a gorilla and a mother to five of her own.
Kiki was completely taken with the baby boy. She cozied up to the glass, pressed her hand against it, and just sat, watching and seemingly lovestruck by the newborn. It was one of those interactions that was simply so powerful because you could feel the connection between the two moms, one gorilla and one human.
The video was shared on YouTube by Emmily's husband, and it quickly went viral. Over Mother's Day weekend, people seemed to love watching the incredible interaction. It now has over 667,000 views.
There's absolutely no question as to why the video has been circulated so widely. It's because we don't often get to see and feel how connected we all are, as inhabitants of the Earth, so fully. But in this video, that connection is unmistakable.
"She kept looking around the corner of the cave, and I was like, 'She’s looking at Canyon,'" Emmily told News Center Maine. "For well over five minutes, she just sat there watching Canyon, just staring at him, just so lovingly."
Kiki's baby boy, Pablo, came over to hang on his mama, too. Then both mothers sat there, holding their babies and admiring one another through the glass.
“When I walked into the zoo that day, I never could’ve imagined that we would have had that experience,” Emmily Austin said. “It was so beautiful, and we walked out just over the moon.” It's certainly a magical experience that speaks so loudly, without any words being uttered between the two moms at all.
As if we needed more proof that maternal bonds can defy just about everything, we've also found out that Kiki was treated by human doctors when delivering her fifth baby. Kiki developed placenta previa when in labor with Pablo. So OB-GYNs came in to care for her.
There you have it, folks. The bond of motherhood is present in all things. And a mother is a mother no matter how big, how small, or how hairy.
