Katharina Buczek
One zookeeper named Kate just could not stay away from work while on maternity leave. Ten weeks into her leave, she went back to visit the zoo– and even brought her newborn baby.
Something unexpected happened, though. A three-year-old gorilla that Kate cares for became entranced by new baby. She went viral on TikTok after sharing the sweet encounter.
“When your zookeeper visits while on maternity leave: the three-year-old gorilla is obsessed with the new baby,” she captioned the video.
While Kate stood outside the glassed-off enclosure, with her baby on her chest, the gorilla made her way over to the window. He then sat right up against the glass and gazed at the new baby before reaching up to give Kate a kiss.
The TikTok community went bananas over the gorilla’s genuine display of emotion. Kate’s video reached one million people and garnered nearly one hundred and twenty-five thousand likes.
“Gorillas have such human-like eyes filled with so much soul. I almost feel bad they are in cages. Such beautiful animals and such a cute video,” one user wrote. Her comment received nearly five thousand likes.
“It’s like she is proud of you and reaches up to tell you, ‘Good job, mom!'” another user observed.
“This is the sweetest video. Thank you for sharing something so positive when the world has so much negative at the moment,” a third user said.
TikTok; pictured above is Kate with her baby and one of the gorillas she works with
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