Mother chimpanzee groans with joy as she reunites with her recovering baby

Chimpanzees have some of the best maternal instincts in nature, but sometimes, those instincts aren’t enough to save their babies. At the Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas, a chimpanzee mother named Mahale struggled to give birth to her most recent child. After an emergency caesarean section, the newborn chimpanzee had difficulty breathing, leaving zookeepers to care for him around the clock.

The baby had spent the first two days of his life away from his mother, and Mahale was very sad. But when the two are finally reunited, it’s warmer than anyone could have imagined.

Tragic birth complications

Zookeeper Devin Turner sat beside Mahale as she went into labor, but he quickly realized something was wrong. The birth did not happen naturally so she needed an emergency cesarean section.

Turner held the newborn chimpanzee before anyone else, and he saw the tiny creature struggling to breathe. So the zookeepers rushed the baby to the emergency room and kept an eye on him 24/7. They gave him oxygen therapy and bottle-fed him. As his breathing began to steady, Mahale was approached visually to let her know he was fine.

“The baby had a bit of trouble getting enough oxygen at birth, so he is being treated by the animal care staff at the Zoo’s Veterinary Hospital. He did a great job today and will be reunited with his mother soon! zoo wrote in a Facebook update.

Zookeepers have named the brave little chimp Kucheza, which in Swahili means “playing”. Thankfully, Kucheza started breathing normally after about two days in the emergency room. The mother chimpanzee usually hugs her baby all the time, so two days is a long time for both of them to be apart. Just when the zookeepers believed that Kucheza was healthy, they organized a beautiful reunion for the mother and daughter.

A meeting full of tears

The zookeepers wrapped the baby in a blanket and laid him on the bed in the chimpanzee cage. They then recorded the moment Mahale entered the room to investigate. In the video, Mahale walks into the room, dragging a blanket behind his back. At first, she didn’t notice anything unusual in the room. But then she was dumbfounded when she saw a new blanket on her bed.

When Kucheza gets under the blanket, Mahale’s body language changes. She picked up the baby without hesitation and held it in her lap. Later, the zookeepers said she hadn’t put it down in weeks. Mother chimpanzees like to stay close to their babies at all times because that’s how they keep them safe in the wild.

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“Many people have asked how Mahale eats and takes care of herself if she never puts the baby down. The answer is that they are both quite talented! Baby chimpanzees cling to their mother’s fur so that she can freely forage, climb, nest, etc,” the zoo wrote.

Sedgwick County Zoo has posted numerous updates on Mahale and Kucheza since its inception, and each update is equally lovely and heartwarming. To learn more about this mother-daughter duo, you can visit Zoo’s Facebook page.

Watch Mahale and Kucheza reunite:

Featured pictures: Facebook