KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s traditionally one of the busiest days of the year at the Kansas City Zoo, as an estimated 8,000 people were expected to take advantage of free admission to moms this Mother’s Day.
That included expectant mom Christina Baldwin and her cubs.
“I’m here with my four children, my wonderful husband we’re excited to have a fun day at the zoo as a family,” said Baldwin.
Sunday it seemed everybody wanted to see one mom and newborn in particular.
“Everybody wants to know where the babies are!” said Sean Putney, Director of Living Collections with the Zoo.
At 40-year-old, Rachel the chimpanzee gave birth to a healthy four pound baby boy chimp on March 27th. FOX 4 got a rare glimpse of the doting mother on Sunday. She and her young baby are never apart.
“The most caring are definitely the primates. They’re very similar to us in that they devote a lot of time and energy into their youngsters,” said Putney.
The baby chimp will likely grow to 180 pounds and live an average of 50 years. And, he’s not the only baby at the zoo.
“We have one expecting mom who’s Makari, who’s a gorilla,” said Putney. “We’re really excited about that one. She’s due mid June.”
The baby chimp doesn’t have a name yet. The Zoo is auctioning off the name at Jazzoo next month.
To learn more about the annual celebration on June 5th in support of the Kansas City Zoo click here.
