When Michael Austin, his wife Emmily and their newborn baby decided to pay a visit to the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, they never thought they will experience one of the most touching encounters a human being and a wild creature could ever have. 

“When I walked into the zoo that day, I never could’ve imagined that we’d have this experience,” Emmily said. When they got close to Kiki’s enclosure – an endangered Western Lowland gorilla – they had quite an experience. The young family spotted the gorilla in her 7-month-old son’s company, so they stopped for a moment. 

It did not took too long until Kiki and her baby Pablo approached their visitor, but what happened next goes beyond any imagination. 

  “My wife held up our son to show to Kiki,” Michael shared with THE DODO. “Then she [the gorilla] grabbed Pablo and put him on her leg to carry him over to us.” The two mothers then had this magical interaction that lasted a few minutes. And all this time, they seem to speak the same language. It was a really special and intense bond. Michael also caught on his cellphone the moment and the footage went viral. 

  “It was one of the most amazing experiences,” Michael recalls. “Kiki was talking to us with her hands. Pablo even pushed his face up to the glass at one point and they watched him, noses touching, together. My wife and I both had tears in our eyes.” 

 Watch the beautiful moment here:

 
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Her favorite thing to do is to sit outside on our porch and watch the birds. She likes that she is the only cat and gets all of the attention.” Lilly is simply the cutest! Check her pics below and see for yourself.

 More info: Instagram – h/t: BoredPanda Source

 Personnel at the Society for the Improvement of Conditions for Stray Animals (SICSA) in Kettering, Ohio, stated that the 1-year-old dog started a nice simple habit to make his cold kennel a bit more comfy. “Rush makes his bed every day at an animal shelter while he waits for a family to adopt him,” SICSA posted on Facebook. 

“He’s been waiting for over 30 days.” Thanks to the adorable video above, Rush found a new family:

  The family had seen the video, came and met Rush and fell in love,” Nora Vondrell, executive director of SICSA, told ABC News. I’m really happy for Rush and I hope his new family gives him the love he deserves 🙂
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 On a recent trip to the Penllergare Valley Woods, Charlie decided to chase some ducks. It was the first time he had ever done so, and it soon landed him in trouble. Charlie jumped in the lake to paddle after the ducks, but soon found himself trapped in the water. “Charlie was going further and further out and was getting stuck in the reeds. You could see he was struggling to stay afloat,” Jane told Wales Online. 

 Jane worried, but couldn’t go in after him: “I’m disabled, so there was no way I could’ve swum out to get him. Which just left me standing there helpless on the bank thinking, ‘What the hell do I do now’?”

Then suddenly, a complete stranger jumped into the water and started swimming after Charlie! It was no easy task, but the teen successfully swam out and reached Charlie. He freed the dog, and led him back to shore. “The poor lad himself was also quite shaken up afterwards,” Jane said. “I think it had been a tougher swim than he’d expected and I’m really grateful to him for risking his own safety the way he did.” 

 While it was an ordeal, it was worth it to save Charlie’s life. Jane was extremely grateful: “So I’ve no doubt in my mind that had Connor not got to him right then he’d have died,” she told Wales Online. Jane shared the story on Facebook. She still didn’t know the boy’s name, but wanted to give him credit for his remarkable good deed. 

  “This young Scottish lad is my hero!” she wrote. But as the post went viral, she soon learned his identity: Connor Telford, a 17-year-old from Dundee, Scotland. And she soon learned the eventful day was his first time in Wales. “He lives in Scotland and arrived in Wales today, this was his first stop on his holiday in The Mumbles,” Jane wrote. 

 Needless to say, it was quite an eventful, and exhausting, start to a vacation: “This was the first day of Connor’s first ever trip to Wales – and, oh my goodness, what a day it turned out to be,” Connor’s girlfriend’s mother Shelagh told Wales Online. 

  “He’s not a strong swimmer but launched himself headfirst into the lake with no thought for his own safety. He came out bedraggled, visibly shaken and was physically sick – but he’s recovering well from his ordeal.” But she says the teen has recovered thanks to some ice cream, and he’s been widely praised as a hero online. 

  “Without this lad and you all clapping and cheering him to keep him fighting then I’d be telling a very different story,” Jane wrote.

  Thank you to Connor for going out of the way to save Charlie from drowning! You’re a true hero.❤
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 In a heartbreaking photo, shared on Instagram by Virunga National Park, the two lifelong friends can be seen bonding for the very last time. Ndakasi can be seen lying her head on her carer and protecter’s chest, Andre Bauma, before giving her last breath. The two went viral a couple of years ago, after posing in a selfie. “It is with heartfelt sadness that Virunga announces the passing of beloved orphaned mountain gorilla, Ndakasi, who had been under the care of the Park’s Senkwekwe Center for more than a decade,” the touching words read. 

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A post shared by Virunga National Park (@virunganationalpark)

Ndakasi – like all the other primates that live in the Virunga park, Congo – was a symbol of hope and determination. A great example of how much these magnificent creatures have to endure, only because of poaching. 

Ndakasi was first brought at the Senkwekwe Centre, in Viruga park, when she was only two-month-old. Back then, she was rescued by the park’s rangers, after she lost her mom – also due to poaching. An endangered species, Viruga’s mountain gorilla are being protected by over 600 devoted rangers, who are always ready to put their lives on the line to protect these gentle giants. 

The beautiful friendship between Ndakasi and Andre, shows the deep, and so special bond, the rangers share with these innocent souls!
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But sometimes, a male will step up to take care of his children, especially if their mother is unable to. That was the case recently, with a male swan who has gone viral for taking care of his kids on his own after the death of his mate. 

 Recently, a swan couple made a home near the Charles River Esplanade in Boston, Massachusetts. They recently hatched nine cygnets, much to the delight of visitors, and the swans and their babies quickly became local celebrities.

Were saddened to report that the mother swan of the adorable Esplanade swan family passed away last night in her nest. We want to thank @animalboston for safely removing her from the swan's nest while the father swan sat at the nest with their cygnets tucked under his wings. pic.twitter.com/CnuYZOKWcK

— Charles River Esplanade (@EsplanadeBoston) June 1, 2021

It was the first sign these newborn swans would be okay, despite the loss of their mother, thanks to their caring dad. The death of the mother swan left visitors heartbroken, but they continued to visit the lagoon to see the family — and a man named Matthew Raifman caught an inspiring sight that left him running for his camera. 

  “I noticed something was kind of unusual,” Matthew told WBZ-TV. “All the baby cygnets were on top of the papa swan.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Matthew Raifman (@matthewraifman)

He snapped a few photos of the dad giving his chicks a ride on his back (with one tailing behind in the water). He called it “probably the best photo I’ve ever taken,” and described the situation as “one of the most heartbreaking and heartwarming stories in a while.” 

 He also said that as the father of a toddler, he really felt for the single dad swan. “I felt sort of a kindler spirit with this papa swan that is just trying to be resilient in the face of a pretty challenging life,” Matthew told WBTV. 

  “I can relate on some level, I think, to what it’s like to be a new dad struggling with a challenging situation you need to overcome.”

Papa Swan carrying his babies on his back 🥺❤️ @wbz @EsplanadeBoston pic.twitter.com/SqEQkKkV9s

— Anna Meiler (@AnnaMeiler) June 4, 2021

The swan’s resilience has turned a heartbreaking story into an inspiring one, and now locals visit the esplanade to see this heroic dad swan. “They seem to be doing well,” Emma Feeney told The Dodo.

  “You can tell that he’s just a great, great father to them. It’s very adorable.” “They’ve been through so much, but they seem so strong.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Matthew Raifman (@matthewraifman)

It’s sad that the mother swan passed away, but we’re so happy this dad has stepped up to the plate to take care of these babies.
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 That was the case recently, when a group of horses were seen babysitting a young fawn as she waited for her mother.

  The adorable scene was caught by Kally May, on a ranch outside Steamboat Springs in Routte County, Colorado, according to Steamboat Radio. 

 She noticed the fawn was on its own with no mother in sight, and it appeared that three horses, part of the ranch, were looking after her. 

The priceless photos show the horses nuzzling the tiny animal, keeping it safe. Kally said the horses were “being protective from predators.”

  While the fawn might seem orphaned, Kally was told by the local wildlife division to “let it be” and not interfere with the fawn. It is actually normal behavior for mother deer to leave their fawns alone while they look for food to avoid attracting predators, and return to their young later in the day. 

 It’s often a problem when well-intentioned people try to save a seemingly-orphaned fawn, making it even more difficult for them to reunite with their mom. 

 So Kally did the right thing, leaving things alone, and sure enough the mother deer came back to pick up her young, Kally reported the next day. It’s a happy ending, all thanks to three very responsible horses who looked after her for the afternoon.

  So nice to see these horses looking after this baby deer...❤
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  "It's not always about skates and hockey pucks at County Ice Center. Today was a bitter sweet day, as we had an opportunity to help make a difference for a very special dog, Maggie," a spokesperson for the ice center wrote in a Facebook post. 

  "This morning we filled bins, buckets and the back of his van with the ice shavings from the rink. Maggie enjoyed her last morning with her two favorite things, snow and her owners." The County Ice Center shared several photos of Maggie enjoying her personal snowbank, which included a sign that read "Maggie's Snow." 

 Maggie's owners also shared a final goodbye video of Maggie playing in the snow made just for her.

 

This is what her owners wrote: 

  "We said goodbye to our sweet Maggie Bear this morning. We are devastated and already feel the enormous void of her absence. As difficult as the decision to end her suffering was, we are comforted in knowing she departed with grace and dignity. It was important for us to say goodbye in a calm and peaceful manner. 

 The person who filmed this adorable video spotted the pair walking alongside a highway in Homer, Alaska. What happened next just could not be avoided. "My wife and I were driving home and saw a baby and mama moose next to the highway and we decided to stop to let them cross the roadway," he said. 

The baby moose must be brand new because he's still getting used to his little land legs. The Alaska moose (Alces alces gigas) or giant moose or Alaskan moose is a subspecies of moose that ranges from Alaska to western Yukon. 

 The Alaska moose is the largest North American subspecies of moose. Alaska moose inhabit boreal forests and mixed deciduous forests throughout most of Alaska and most of Western Yukon. 

 Like all moose species, the Alaska moose is usually solitary but sometimes will form small herds 

 Watch the wonderful footage below:

 
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Since the little cutie’s cat momma was nowhere to be found, Will decided to take him to the vet and then home, where he now lives permanently. The kitten was named Onion and he’s obsessed with his human dad! 

“This little guy will follow me around the house if I let him loose. He just won’t leave me alone now,” Will shared but he couldn’t resist the kitten that stole his heart by just approaching him.

 Little Onion is all grown up now and still purrs when Will picks him up, because some things just never change. More info: Reddit | h/t: lovemeow Source

This little puppy’s days were nothing but extremely tough, but his luck has changed when a kindhearted man came across him. Goran Marinkovic Even though this heartbreaking story eventually turns into a happy ending one, thanks to a hero, sadly there are countless of stories like this, with little animals dumped on the side of the roads, just like they are useless things. 

Maybe it is time for humanity to understand that all beings have feelings and they all deserve to be cared for. Goran Marinkovic Fortunately, people like Goran Marinkovic still care for the world we live in and especially for those creature who simply cannot fend themselves, like stray animals. 

One day he was wandering the roads of Serbia in search for animals in need, he came across a sight that left him heartbroken. 

A tiny puppy that found shelter in a shoe was sitting there, extremely hungry and surrounded only by trash.

Goran Marinkovic Since there was no sign of his mother or other dogs, Goran realized the innocent creature was abandoned there. 

So he stepped up, rescued him and changed his life forever! Goran Marinkovic “I save animals that are endangered, that live on the street,” the kind man told in an interview for Bored Panda. 

“I take care of animals because I love them, I love animals equally everything, cats, dogs, others.” Goran Marinkovic Goran initially fed the poor puppy – who’s condition looked pretty worse – and gave him water, then they visited a vet. 

After receiving medical treatment, the cute little thing found his way to Goran’s home, which eventually became his forever home as the man that saved him decided to adopt him. Goran Marinkovic Here, the puppy named Smesten, didn’t got only food and the proper care, but also the love and comfort, he was always seeking for. 

Now, a few months after he was found abandoned, Smesten looks so different! Source

You see, she is the founder of Speranza Animal Rescue so she takes care of many animals. Watson was a homeless pit bull who was found in a park all alone in Philadelphia by a college student. 

After finding the dog, the student took him to an emergency vet because the pup had sores all over his body, a tumor on his back leg and he was starving. 

The vet informed the student that Watson was beyond hope. He had cancer that was spreading and his time was limited. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/SPERANZA ANIMAL RESCUE
Watson went from the veterinarian’s office to a shelter in the area. The staff at the shelter agreed that Watson could stay there to be as comfortable as he could. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/SPERANZA ANIMAL RESCUE
“I had a gut feeling that things weren’t going to be good the next day,” Guido told the Dodo. 

“I didn’t want to leave him alone. Not when he needed me the most.” 

She did what she could to comfort him, gathering blankets and dog beds and keeping him close. She spent the night with Watson holding him as he slept. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/SPERANZA ANIMAL RESCUE
“He slept like a rock all night, cuddled up to me so tight,” Guido said. “I cried myself to sleep, and woke up in tears as well.” 

 Watson began pacing circles the following morning and he stopped eating and drinking. 

Guido knew that he was close to dying. She continued to support him in that difficult time. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/SPERANZA ANIMAL RESCUE
Before long, Watson passed away but he was loved, perhaps the first time in his life. 

  “I’m just so thankful I was able to hold him tight for his last night,” Guido said. “I was telling him how much he was loved — and that his life mattered. My heart is breaking, but I would not change a thing.”
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