Mom shares spotlight with exotic animals in maternity photo shoot
Netflix’s ‘Pet Stars’ co-host captured her pregnancy milestone at Animal Tracks, Inc.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One woman has posed in a maternity shoot that reflects both her career and love for animals.
In several black and white photos captured in California, Colleen Wilson can be seen with monkeys, a kangaroo and three different wolfdog hybrids.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Colleen Wilson shared the spotlight with Chrissy the Baboon, a retired movie animal, during her maternity shoot at Animal Tracks, Inc. (Christine Hilberg)
The animals were rescued by the nonprofit animal sanctuary, Animal Tracks, Inc., which is dedicated to being a forever home for injured wildlife and confiscated exotic pets.
Wilson decided to commemorate her pregnancy milestone in a way that draws attention to the facility’s good work, her spokesperson told Fox News via email.
Wilson appears on Netflix's "Pet Stars" and is the founder of Pets on Q – an animal media company and booking platform which specializes in humane set work with animals.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wilson teamed up with her photographer friend Christine Hilberg for her unique maternity shoot.
Prior to the shoot, Wilson had developed a relationship with Animal Tracks and their exotic residents. She’s volunteered at the facility in the last two years and plans to continue doing so in the future.
"Having developed relationships and trust with these beautiful animals over the years, I feel so blessed that I was able to get all of these amazing photos with animals," Wilson said in a statement. "Sometimes cleaning up poo and feeding an animal can lead to intimate moments that Christine was able to capture so perfectly."
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"We wanted to do something that no one has ever done before," Hilberg wrote to Fox News. "We hope that people see these photos and want to know more about the animals and rescue organizations like Animal Tracks."
While at Animal Tracks, Wilson had natural interactions with a number of the facility’s animals.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We wanted the photos to look natural. All of the animals were very comfortable with Colleen because she already had a relationship with them prior to this photoshoot," Hilberg added. "None of the animals were posed or told what to do."
In one photo three capuchin monkeys make themselves at home on Wilson’s shoulder, lap and side while she feeds them. Meanwhile, in another shot, Wilson can be seen smiling down at a baboon named Chrissy, who has a gentle hold on her leg.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Another rather inquisitive animal Wilson shared a moment was with a red jack kangaroo named Dennis Hopper, who took interest in her pregnant belly.
She’s also photographed holding a hybrid wolf cub and standing next to a black wolfdog named Raider in a separate shot.
Wilson tells Fox News she couldn’t help but notice that some animals seemed to be "curious" or "maternal" over her. When describing her maternity shoot experience, she says it was a fun and organic moment in time, and that she’s always been more at ease with animals than she has with humans.
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Before Wilson was wowing people with her maternity shoot, she spent plenty of time with domesticated animals at her talent management company Pets on Q, which is featured on "Pet Stars." The show made its streaming debut in back April.
Her company connects social media famous pets with established name brands that are in need of animal talent.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hilberg was also featured on the show with her own pets, a tortoise named Rocket Larry and a rescued pit bull named Puka.
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Animal Tracks, Inc. is based in Agua Dulce, Calif. The organization is currently accepting donations on GoFundMe to aid its merger with another local nonprofit, which aims to provide its animal residents more space to live.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Animal Tracks is currently in the process of moving to a new location due to zoning issues and Colleen has been actively helping us with fundraising ideas even during her pregnancy," Animal Tracks’ executive director Stacy Gunderson wrote to Fox News. "We will be moving approximately 4 miles north of where we are now to a bigger better location. Now I have to find the support to help me move these beautiful creatures to this new place."
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Wilson has given birth since the shoot.