There is nothing more pure than the awe on a baby's face. And that baby doesn't have to be human! When a baby gorilla met a human toddler, the pure adoration on his face shone brightly.
Going to the zoo is one of the best trips you can take with your family. At the zoo, not only can you see all of your favorite animals, you can learn something about them, too! It's easy to forget the educational purposes of a zoo when you see adorable cheetah cubs or entertaining pumpkin-smashing elephants. Zoos are wonderful places to learn about endangered species and how we can help them.
Five-month-old gorilla baby Augustus is one of the Fort Worth Zoo's newest residents. While on a trip with her family, toddler Braylee met Augustus, and the two shared a very special moment. Augustus, better known as Gus, is still new to the zoo, so he's been exploring plenty and making all kinds of friends!
Just check out the super-sweet moment between Braylee and Gus below, and see how Gus has been fitting in at the Fort Worth Zoo!
Little Braylee was snapped in this photo upon her family's visit to the zoo. Her mother Cadee told LittleThings: "It was the sweetest thing! When we walked up, Gus had his back to the window, he turned around and stood up and put his hands up to the window where Braylee was standing. She then put her hands up and they just stared and talked to each other for a good 2 minutes. She was over the moon to share such a sweet moment with Gus the gorilla!"
Gus was born at the Fort Worth Zoo on December 5, 2015. He was the first gorilla birth in the zoo's history. He was born to the zoo's existing gorilla couple, Gracie and Elmo.
The zoo chose not to name Gus and instead left the process open to the public. In February, they requested submissions for possible names.
The final four contenders for his name were: Augustus, Crockett, Grover, and Mosi. While we love Gus, we think Grover would also have been cute since his dad's name is Elmo.
The zoo posted this on their Instagram about the voting process: "At one point, three different names were leading in the three different polls. Grover led the Facebook vote, Gus led the Twitter vote and Mosi was the favorite for in-park voters. However, once Pittsburg State, a small public university in Pittsburg, Kan., got wind of the contest, they encouraged their students to vote for the name that happens to share the name of their mascot, Gus the Gorilla. Within 24 hours, Gus surged from third place to first, surpassing Mosi and Grover."
While Gus can now stand up and walk on his own at his age, he still likes to ride on his mama's back the most.
Don't forget to SHARE this adorable story with your friends and family!
