Playing Mommy to an Orphaned Gorilla—Best Job Ever?
Hi, Cincinnati Zoo. We don’t have any experience working with primates but we’d like to apply to help you raise the sweet baby gorilla you’ve recently acquired.
It seems impossible, but sometimes gorilla moms reject their babies, and humans must step in and care from them. This adorable four-week old monkey has found a new home at the Cincinnati Zoo, where primate experts are keeping her well-cared for and hoping that one of the gorillas there, who happens to be her great-grandmother, will eventually take over the parenting duties.
Until then, the zoo keepers and primate specialists are dressing up as gorillas and holding the baby 24/7, even grunting to her in gorilla speak so she can get used to her new environment. A job that requires grown men to dress up in gorilla suits and grunt all for a good cause? Wow, best job ever. And if you think its sounds like hogwash, it's not. In China, workers wear panda suits to release pandas into the wild. (The photos are a must-see.)
On Friday the zoo announced that the baby has finally been given a name! Gladys Stones, named for the zoo where she was born in Texas: Gladys Porter Zoo and for the Stones family who cared for her before she came to Cincinnati.
We’re not sure what gives us more joy, this baby’s sweet face or the two dudes who are responsible for making sure she learns how to communicate. Check out their dedication to this awesome job in the video below.
Related on Shine:
Woman Raised by Monkeys: Daughter Helps Share Mom's Incredible Story
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A Boy and His French Bulldog
