Emmily Austin, a new mom from Jefferson, Maine, was visiting Boston’s Franklin Park Zoo when Kiki the gorilla took a special interest in Austin’s 5-month old son.
It appears mothers of all species have the same loving instincts for their children.
Emmily Austin discovered as much when she and her 5-month-old son, Canyon, met Kiki the gorilla, herself a mother of five, on a recent trip to Boston's Franklin Park Zoo.
The mom from Jefferson, Maine, held her son up against the safety glass to see the gorillas when Kiki took notice and came over to see the baby for herself, becoming fascinated with the infant.
"It was so sweet," Austin told NBC affiliate News Center Maine. "For like well over five minutes she just sat there watching him and just staring at him so lovingly."
Eventually, Kiki brought over her only son, Pablo, to see Canyon as well.
Though Canyon slept through most of the experience, Austin said she is excited to return to the zoo and hopes to see Kiki again.
"When I walked into the zoo that day, I never could've imagined that we'd have this experience," Austin told News Center Maine. "It was so beautiful and we walked out over the moon."
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