A true friendship never dies.
Although this saying was developed for humans, it seems animals fit more on it!
It is unbelievable how long our animal friends may remember us. And while you may be thinking this just applies to cats and dogs, the video at the end of this article will leave you amazed at how even the wild animals can develop a strong, unbreakable bond with their caretakers!
When Damian Aspinall, an animal conservationist from the Aspinall Foundation, received reports that one of his rescued gorillas was behaving strangely, he set off to see him after 5 years of separation.
His foundation is an animal conservation charity that among other things rescues gorillas and then rehabilitates them to their natural environment.
Damian has seen hundreds of gorillas rehabilitate over the years. But there was one gorilla, Kwibi, who became extremely attached to Damian while under his care.
The conservationist took care of the gorilla until he turned 5 years of age, after which he was released into the jungles of Gabon like the other rescued ones.
However, unlike the other gorillas, the two friends were destined to meet again!
After 5 years of Kwibi’s release, the members of the organization noticed some strange changes in his behavior. He started acting aggressively toward everyone who tried to approach him.
When Damian was informed of the matter, he decided to go into the wild and look up his old friend, who had by then turned 10 years of age.
Despite warnings from his peers, Damian set out with a small team and when he finally made it to his old buddy, what happened next was something no one could have guessed.
Kwibi identified his former master as soon as the two of them laid eyes on each other. The animal approached him and started whispering in his year as if complaining why he had abandoned him in the wild.
After he had delivered his message, Kwibi ate a leaf from Damian’s hand.
Then the gorilla wrapped his arms around his former master in an attempt to ride on Damian’s back, just like the old times.
And though he couldn’t ride his back being a fully-grown gorilla, Kwibi stayed in that position for nearly the rest of time Damian was there.
Sadly, their reunion was short-lived and both of them had to say goodbye to each other, like 5 years ago.