Mary as an animal keeper

Queen Mary feeds manatee calf with bottle

It's not every day that a queen is hired as an animal keeper ...(Bild: APA/AFP/MICHAEL DANTAS)

Royal pictures that melt hearts! Queen Mary of Denmark provided an incredibly cute moment during her official state visit to Brazil, which she obviously enjoyed very much herself. Beaming from ear to ear, she gave a manatee baby a bottle.

The charming wife of King Frederik visited the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA) in Manaus on Thursday and took on the role of animal keeper with obvious pleasure. 

Irresistible
The royal mother of four sat down in front of the cameras and bottle-fed a cute manatee calf. She also stroked the baby animal. Who could have resisted?

Mary feeding the manatee calf(Bild: APA/AFP/MICHAEL DANTAS)

Mary stroking the little one's head.(Bild: AP/Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

For Queen Mary, the visit to the Amazon region was a special highlight of her trip to Brazil, as it showed how important the protection of endangered species is to her. The INPA is fighting to save the Amazon manatees, which are highly endangered due to environmental destruction - and Queen Mary was completely enthusiastic about these efforts.

Queen Mary at lunch in the Biatuwi restaurant in Manau(Bild: AP/Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Sustainability
According to the royal family, the Queen then visited the Center for Bioeconomy (CBA), which was founded in Manaus in 2002 to promote sustainable development in the Amazon region. Lunch was served in a local restaurant that prepares food using sustainable products harvested and produced by indigenous people. The restaurant mainly employs indigenous people.