When a 3-year-old boy fell into a gorilla pit at the Brookfield Zoo in 1996, onlookers were terrified. No human stands a chance against a gorilla if the animal were to be aggressive, especially a child so small.

But to everyone’s surprise, the young boy was in good hands when a female gorilla named 

Binti Jua approached him. While any wild animal can be dangerous at times, this gorilla was the complete opposite.

The 150-pound gorilla (8 years old at the time) gently scooped up the boy as she had her own baby on her back. She then brought the boy to rescuers, a gesture that left zookeepers in shock. Of course it’s still awe-inspiring decades later, much like Jambo the gorilla who famously acted just as gently when another boy suffered a similar fall.

“[The gorilla] was clearly exhibiting some maternal-type behavior and we are amazed,” one of the zoo workers told WGN at the time. “She was not showing any aggressive behavior towards the little boy. It was a very dangerous situation, you do not want to be in their territory.”

Thankfully, the boy only spent four days in the hospital and didn’t suffer any severe injuries.