Sometimes, a difference really isn’t a difference at all — especially when it comes to the bonds of a mother’s love. The other day, Austin and her family decided to pay a visit to the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston with their 1-month-old son, Canyon. It was there, while stopping by the gorilla enclosure, that the Austins spotted Kiki in the company of her own child, a 7-month-old baby gorilla named Pablo.
“My wife mentioned that she felt like she could understand their bond and could see how much she cared for Pablo, since she is a mother now herself,” says Michael Austin, Canyon’s dad. “My wife held up our son to show to Kiki, who was on the other side of the enclosure … then Kiki grabbed Pablo and put him on her leg to carry him over to us.”
For the next several minutes, Emmelina and Kiki sat with their babies inches apart — bonding as mothers, despite the barrier between them, in a language as old as time.