MIAMI (WSVN) - A chimpanzee from the Zoological Wildlife Foundation in Miami reunited with his former foster parents, and the adorable moment was all caught on video.
The video, which was posted to Instagram last month and has over 165,000 views, shows Limbani eagerly awaiting his foster parents, Jorge and Tania Sanchez. The couple greeted the excited chimp, cradling Limbani in their arms while sharing hugs and kisses.
“They give him so much love and attention. He’s like part of the family,” said president and director of ZWF Miami Mario Tabraue. “He feels he’s part of the family.”
Limbani was born with pneumonia and rejected by his mother. The foster parents helped raise the critically-endangered chimpanzee for the first few months of his life, giving him around-the-clock care as they nursed him back to health.
“While they were taking care of him, he had pneumonia. He had to go to doctors, he had to have his nebulizer two times a day, and they did it all, and he got very bonded with them,” Tabraue said.
The 22-month-old Limbani now lives at the Zoological Wildlife Foundation in Southwest Miami-Dade, and gets to visit with the couple that helped save his life every few months.
The unbreakable bond they have could be seen in the video.
The chimp is unable to contain his excitement every time he sees the couple.
“He wants hugs, he jumps on them. All their love that they have for him, he shares back,” Tabraue said.
Zoo officials hope that the love Limbani shares with the Sanchez’s will inspire others to love these animals just the same.
“People should understand that not only this species but all species that we have are going extinct in the wild, and some people don’t care,” Tabraue said. “People think, ‘Let them go extinct.’ We believe they shouldn’t go extinct. We believe we should give them more attention and more love.”
The Sanchez’s are planning to pick up Limbani Tuesday night, so he can stay with them for the evening.
If you want to visit Limbani or other animals at the Zoological Wildlife Foundation, go here.
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