Reunions can be huge celebrations for some families. Many take years of planning even. Some people can’t wait for their high-school or college alumni reunions. Not all reunions need to be huge parties, though, and our video today shows a very quiet and sweet reunion.
Reunions aren’t limited to humans. People and animals can reunite too. A conservationist named Damian Aspinall is riding on a boat in the waters of a river in Gabon, Africa. He’s there for a very specific purpose – to reunite with a gorilla that had stayed in his sanctuary.
Five years have passed since he released the gorilla named Kwibi back to his home environment. Damian wants to see if he’s remembered. He cups his hands to his mouth and makes what I presume is a call the gorilla would recognize.
Before too long, they sight Kwibi and bring the boat to land. Damian is showing some nerves when he gets off the boat to greet Kwibi. It’s warranted – even though gorillas are smart, who knows if he remembers his former keeper. The gorilla could be priming himself for an attack, and while the team does have a contingency plan in case things go sideways, Kwibi is so strong that he could wreak havoc on even the most well-laid of plans.
Fortunately, things go smoothly as the gorilla responds with warmth towards Damian after initial trepidation. Five years is a long time to survive in the wild, and also raise a family (a longer video shows Kwibi with children).
It seems Kwibi was quite pleased to see his former carer. Damien hoped to learn from this trip about how things are managed at his sanctuary. Cheers to Damien for work well done with Kwibi. He is clearly thriving back where he belongs.
