Mario, 54, worked at the Rotterdam Zoo despite a mental disability, according to Dutch media. He was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor, but the Ambulance Wish Foundation took him to the zoo for a final visit.
A giraffe bent down to "kiss" him during his visit, and a photo of the encounter quickly went viral on Reddit and the Ambulance Wish Foundation's Facebook page.
The Ambulance Wish Foundation operates in the Netherlands similar to the way the Make-A-Wish Foundation works in the United States, helping critically ill people achieve their wishes through volunteer help.