Baby Chimp Who Went Viral for Emotional Reunion With Mother Dies Unexpectedly

A baby chimpanzee who went viral over an emotional reunion with his mother has died, the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas, announced.

Kucheza and his mom, Mahale, went viral for their reunion after he was born and got over 17 million views on the zoo’s Facebook page. Mahale gave birth via emergency C-section after natural labor stopped progressing. The baby was not breathing well on his own, so he stayed in the hospital with a medical team until he could be reunited with his mother, the zoo said.

Keepers found the 5-week-old primate named Kucheza dead in his mother Mahale’s arms, where he stayed until she was ready to part with him, the zoo wrote on Facebook.

“Mahale’s love for Kucheza was and will continue to be felt by billions of people around the world,” the zoo wrote. “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.”

The zoo said that the chimp family was quiet and subdued and was giving extra attention to Mahale while she was grieving.

“We have been utilizing extra enrichment to keep the family distracted and provide comfort as they heal and process the week’s events,” the zoo said.

Kucheza’s necropsy revealed that the cause of death was head trauma. The team is reportedly still trying to make sense of all of it, but they are not sure they will ever know what led to Kucheza’s injuries.

“Based on the family social dynamics and what we know of each individual chimp, we believe that whatever happened that night was an accident.”

“Kucheza left a huge imprint on our world in his short time here, and we thank each one of our friends for your love and Support during this very difficult time.”

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