A moving video of an orphaned chimpanzee baby cuddling up to his rescue pilot tugged at the heartstrings of thousands of viewers. But the pilot who helped save the animal wants the public to never forget the pain the chimp and others like him continue to experience.

Belgian aviator Anthony Caere, who works for Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, told PBS in an interview that aired Friday that he wished his special time with the chimp would never have happened. Caere is seen ferrying the chimp, Mussa, to the Lwiro Primate Rehab Center, in a video posted early in March. The orphan was confiscated from a man after Mussa had been taken from the wild and Mussas family killed by poachers. While adult chimps are often killed for bushmeat, their young offspring are sold as pets.

The rehab center currently cares for more than six dozen chimps and nearly 100 monkeys. Many of the young animals arrive starving, stressed and injured by tight ropes and small cages, PBS reported. Thats why Caere doesnt restrain baby chimps on his flights.

A baby needs hugs and compassion instead of being locked up in a cage during a stressful flight, Caere said on his Facebook page .