Man reunited with gorilla he raised as a baby (heartwarming video)

2/24/2013 8:00pm by 8

Damian Aspinall raised Kwibi the lowland gorilla up until the age of 5, when Kwibi was let go in Gabon.

Aspinall hadn’t seen Kwibi since that time, five years before.

He went back to Gabon to see if he could find Kwibi, this is the video of their reunion.

It starts off slow, then become rather heart-wrenching. When it was time to finally leave, Kwibi wouldn’t let Aspinall go – he literally held on to him.  Here are two screen shots of Aspinall trying to leave, and then the video below.

kwibi-gorilla

kwibi-gorilla-reunited

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@aravosis | Facebook | Google+. Editor of AMERICAblog, joint JD/MSFS from Georgetown, worked in the US Senate, World Bank, Children's Defense Fund, and as a stringer for the Economist. A frequent TV pundit, he has been on The O'Reilly Factor, Hardball, World News Tonight, Nightline & Reliable Sources. Full bio and .

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  • Butch1

    Simply lovely that after all these years there can be this attachment and that the other very wild clan can accept him in an instant only because of their mate and how he relates to him. They became comfortable as well because it must have been alright and safe.

  • 2ysur2ysub

    If humans could be as sentient and caring as animals, the world would be a better place.

  • Jeff

    One reason I love Jon Stryker, the gay billionaire, so much is because he dedicates half his foundation to saving primates. He recognizes that primates are special. They are intelligent, self-aware, complex and capable of higher thinking. They may not be human, but they aren’t like other animals either.

    • Butch1

      I only wish we would see the porpoise/dolphin in the very same category they are highly intelligent creatures who have been known to help man when they have been in trouble at sea defending them from shark attacks and one wild one even asking for help from a diver to remove an embedded fish hook with net caught in its pectoral fin. They are quite intelligent and recognize man not as their enemies.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000111133695 Lisa Johnson

    This is right up there with Christian the Lion and the reunion video that was popular a few years ago. It proves that humans and other species can form long, deep bonds and that those animals don’t forget. Very moving and poignant.

  • SkippyFlipjack

    So sad for the gorilla. Lovely as it is, you have to ask what was gained by him visiting the gorilla.

  • sherman

    Reminds me of a story I saw on the local news (I believe) maybe 10 years ago. A zookeeper in Columbus raised a gorilla, which was transferred to Birmingham (?) as an adult. After several years the zookeeper visited the new zoo, and when the gorilla saw him it ran across the field in excitement seeing his old friend.

  • http://adgitadiaries.com/ karmanot

    Moving and beautiful

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