TRAGIC

Viral Kansas Baby Chimp Died in His Mother’s Arms

The heartwarming video of a mother chimp being reunited with her son after a C-section went viral last month. Five weeks later, that baby has died.

A chimpanzee who went viral in November at a Kansas zoo with a heartwarming video of her receiving her baby back after a C-section has now had to say goodbye to her son. The 5-week-old chimp, Kucheza, was found dead while his mother, Mahale, cradled him, according to an animal care team at the Sedgwick County Zoo. The zoo is giving the mother time to grieve, but will soon perform a medical assessment to determine a cause of death. “Mahale’s love for Kucheza was and will continue to be felt by billions of people around the world,” the Sedgwick County Zoo said in a statement to FOX Weather. “In his few short weeks of life, Kucheza brought joy and light to so many and sparked an opportunity to educate the world about chimpanzees, the dangers they face in the wild, and most importantly – why we should care.”