Adorable baby rhino tries to 'protect' mom from doctors as they try to treat her: 'So brave'

Editor's note: This article was originally published on January 13, 2023. It has since been updated.

Usually, animal moms are overly protective of their babies. But this video proves that it is true the other way around too. In a Reddit video, a rhino is seen being treated by two doctors while her calf, which doesn't quite understand what is going on, first sniffs her mother before trying to push away the doctors from her. When the men put some liquid on the mother's wound, the baby rhino again tries to unsuccessfully stop them.

The video has more than 938 upvotes and is captioned, "Baby Rhino protecting mommy while doctors treat her." People on the platform just fell in love with the baby rhino. A user @u/No-customer-2266 wrote, "Awww I love him. Makes me kinda happy and sad, the poor guy is stressed but so brave. Glad they are helping Mom." While @u/SnooDoggos4906 said, "Don't you hurt mommy!" Another user, @u/Basic-Ad08679 wrote, "Cute lil squeals I’ve never heard those before."

In another story, a chimpanzee Mahale gave birth through C-section as the natural birth was not progressing. Since the baby wasn't breathing well on his own, he stayed in the hospital with the medical team. The Sedgwick Country Zoo posted an update that Mahale and the baby reunited after almost two days and the video is heartwarming. In the video, the mother can be seen entering the chamber and checking the blanket, it looks like she's wiping a tear away. That's when a small hand reaches out to her and the mother realizes that it's his son. She immediately picks up the child and sweeps him in her arms, just hugging him with untethered joy. 

Kucheza's eyes are winning hearts across the internet, with many people liking and sharing the baby chimp's pictures. Facebook user Shelia Richards commented, "Oh he's absolutely precious and so adorable. I love all breeds of monkeys and apes." Another user, Karin James commented, "such wise little eyes that take in everything right from the moment they arrive!" The video was also posted on the Reddit platform by r/MadeMeSmile, titled, "A Chimp was born a couple of days ago at the Sedgwick County Zoo. He had trouble getting oxygen so he had to be kept at the vet. This video shows mom reuniting with him after almost 2 days apart."

The video has more than 128k upvotes and many love the moment between the apes. User u/clarabellabogwash said, "Omg mums reaction when seeing her baby move Brought a sting of tears to my eyes!" User u/Electrical_Shoe528 commented, "Did she make lil whimpers when she saw and grabbed her baby, 'cause that's what did it for me. Happy tears."

It is reported that the surgery was a complicated one but the medical team at the zoo managed it well.  Drs. Laura Whisler and Janna Chibry of College Hill OB-GYN were on hand to perform the cesarean section with the zoo’s veterinary team,” the SCZ said, as reported by KSN. “The pair have consulted with Sedgwick County Zoo veterinarians on all great ape pregnancies for the past decade — most recently delivering Sumatran Orangutan, Lily, via C-section in 2018," they added.