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Breastfeeding mom's touching encounter with an orangutan has people swooning—and debating

"She sat with me for approximately half an hour, kept stroking the glass and lay down next to me as if to support and protect me."

A breastfeeding mother's experience at Vienna's Schoenbrunn Zoo is touching people's hearts—but not without a fair amount of controversy.

Gemma Copeland shared her story on Facebook, which was then picked up by the Facebook page Boobie Babies. Photos show the mom breastfeeding her baby next to the window of the zoo's orangutan habitat, with a female orangutan sitting close to the glass, gazing at them.

"Today I got feeding support from the most unlikely of places, the most surreal moment of my life that had me in tears," Copeland wrote.

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ライオン脱走に備え着ぐるみで訓練 開園中の想定は初 愛媛・とべ動物園www.youtube.com


Japan's Tobe Zoo contains lions, as any zoo worth its salt should. But what if the lions escape? That scenario is what employees prepared for this week, resulting in a hilarious video that went viral. They couldn't let loose a *real* lion for obvious reasons, so they made do with someone in a lion suit. The ensuing action was - thank God - filmed and uploaded to the Internet. Guess 2019's not a total wash after all!

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Why this zoo is trying to talk Toys R Us mascot ‘Geoffrey the Giraffe’ out of retirement.

There are less than 100,000 giraffes left in the world, and they need our help.

One Texas zoo is making the biggest play for a long-time superstar since the Lakers signed LeBron James.

Now that all remaining Toys R Us stores in the U.S. have officially closed, the San Antonio Zoo is offering the company a cheeky way to let its nostalgia-fueled brand live on.

Geoffrey the Giraffe has been the face of Toys R Us for more than half a century, but no longer. Rather than let him fade into obscurity — like the Frito Bandito or the Noid — the San Antonio Zoo offered Geoffrey the chance to become its mascot for the zoo's giraffe conservation efforts. They even put together a YouTube video making their case.

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Thanks for stopping by for Day 27 of Upworthy's 31 Days of Happiness Countdown! If this is your first visit, here's the gist: Each day between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31, we're sharing stories we hope will bring joy, smiles, and laughter into our lives and yours. It's been a challenging year for a lot of us, so why not end it on a high note with a bit of happiness? Check back tomorrow (or click the links at the bottom) for another installment!

From the moment Fiona the hippo was born at the Cincinnati Zoo, she was a social media star.

The tiniest, newest, cutest little hippo had arrived at a cosmically necessary time in January 2017, three days after Donald Trump's inauguration but six weeks before her due date. There was Fiona merch. A reality show. A lavish New York Times profile that wordplays off "hippo" with "Hooray." An impressive-sounding book deal was practically an inevitability.

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