‘Most Beautiful Thing’: Mom and Newborn Sweetly Bond With Mother Gorilla at Boston Zoo

Emmily Austin and Kiki the gorilla both looked down at 5-week-old Canyon at the Franklin Park Zoo earlier this month. By Austin Cannon May 11, 2021 Advertisement Pin FB More Tweet Email Send Text Message Print

OK, we're a few days past Mother's Day, but we all know that we should be celebrating mothers each and every day—just like Kiki the gorilla did earlier this month at Franklin Park Zoo in Boston. 

Emmily Austin had brought her 5-week-old son Canyon to the zoo, and during their visit they stopped by the gorilla enclosure, according to WCSH. The Maine mom soon noticed that one of the western lowland gorillas seemed to be paying particular attention to her kiddo.

"She kept looking around the corner of the cave," Austin told the TV station. "I was like, 'She's looking at Canyon.'"

She held the baby up to the glass to show 39-year-old Kiki her son, even wondering if the gorilla would approach the glass to check the little one out. That's exactly what the mother of five, including her youngest son Pablo born in October did.

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There, the two mothers sat on either side of the glass, looking down at baby Canyon. Kiki even tapped on the glass several times, and in the video it looks like she tries to hold Canyon's teensy hand when Austin positions it on the glass. Eventually, Kiki even introduced Canyon to Pablo, who'd been ambling around in the background.

"I was just in awe," Austin told WCSH. "Trying to pet his face through the glass, and trying to hold his hand … just the most beautiful thing. You could see the emotion in her eyes."

Thankfully the five-minute video exists. Canyon won't remember this episode because, one, he's a baby and, two, he was passed the heck out for the entire ordeal. But his mom says she can't wait to reunite him with Kiki on future trips to the zoo and possibly rekindle "the most beautiful thing we've ever watched." 

If that encounter wasn't enough to make your day, we have a little more for you: Kiki and Pablo enjoying a super-sweet Mother's Day moment together. Awww.