The Aspinall Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the rehabilitation of captive gorillas, was born among these magnificent creatures at Howletts Wild Animal Park in Kent, England.
A young girl played a vital role in the foundation’s daily activities, helping with the mission to restore gorillas to their natural habitat in West Africa.
For example, they released two gorillas, Bimms and Djalta, who were born in an Animal Park in Kent, as part of a program to reintroduce gorillas back to their natural environment.
Tansy Aspinall was only 18 months old when she first met Djalta and Bims at Howletts Zoo, an encounter that sparked a public outcry from safety campaigners.
”My sister Clary and I often played with Djalta and Bims on the lawn and sometimes we went into the cages with other gorillas. I loved being around them all, but those two guys were really very special to us, like our relatives,” Tansy said.
In 2014, Tansy and her dad Damian traveled to Gabon where they’d been released, to see if they could find their old friends. And they also wondered if they would accept Damian’s daughter, Tansy, who they haven’t seen for 12 years?
”When we set out to find them again I was a little apprehensive at first because I didn’t know if they would remember me after all that time, or if they had become hardened by life and possibly dangerou,” Tansy explained.
However, it turned out to be a heartfelt reunion. After taking a boat trip deep into the jungle in Gabon, Tansy and Damian were greeted by two curious faces peering at them from the trees.
It’s just amazing to watch both Djalta and Bimms respond to Damian’s voice. And then, the way they react to Tansy, who was just a toddler when they first met?
This left me absolutely speechless.
Watch for yourself below:
This was the most moving thing I’ve seen in a long time! Just incredible that they recognized each other after all those years. Please pass this along so that more people can also experience this magical moment.
