Texas Zookeeper on Maternity Leave Brings New Baby to the Dallas Zoo to Meet the Gorillas
A Texas zookeeper recently introduced her "sweet baby" to some of the "sweetest" residents at the Dallas Zoo.
According to Storyful, Mary Kate Findley, a zookeeper at the Dallas Zoo on maternity leave, recently brought her new baby Olivia to the zoo to meet her colleagues.
Findley introduced the 2-month-old to her human and animal friends. The keeper captured a video of herself bringing Olivia to the glass of the Dallas Zoo's gorilla exhibit. Findley has worked with the zoo's gorillas for the past four years.
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The video shows the infant meeting Juba, a silverback gorilla who lives in a bachelor group with three other silverback males at the Dallas Zoo. In the clip, Findley lowers herself to the level of Juba, who is shown sitting against the glass of his enclosure. When Juba notices Findley, the male gorilla turns to face the zookeeper and gazes at her baby.
Findley posted the heartwarming interaction to TikTok (@MaiteKate), captioning the clip, "The sweetest boy meeting my sweet baby for the first time."
The meeting between Juba and Olivia has garnered over 31 million views.
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Findley posted several other clips from her visit to the Dallas Zoo with her daughter. In one, a three-year-old gorilla spots the zookeeper holding Olivia from across the enclosure and comes to the glass to meet the baby.
"10 weeks into maternity leave, and she immediately comes over to meet the baby and give her zookeeper a kiss," Findley captioned the video.