Gorillas are like humans. In fact, better than humans. Though they are wild, they love the people who care for them and treats them as friends if they are treated in the right way.
Here is an example of that.
A selfie taken by a ranger with two gorillas has taken the internet by storm. It was just “another day at the office” for a park ranger in the Democratic Republic of Congo, who snapped a selfie with two “posing” gorillas. In a selfie clicked by Mathieu and Patrick, who belong to the elite anti-poaching units and are combat trackers, the gorillas were standing near the human, posing for the picture and they seemed all comfortable with it.
As the picture went viral on Facebook with over 22,000 shares, many said it was stunning and amazing. Others said it may be fake.
The picture taken at Virunga National Park features two female gorillas, identified as Ndakazi and Ndeze. The national park’s Instagram handle explained that the two gorillas were both orphaned at a very young age and were raised by caretakers at the Senkwekwe Centre for Gorilla Orphans. As a result, the two gorillas were at ease with the staff.
“YES, it’s real! Those gorilla gals are always acting cheeky so this was the perfect shot of their true personalities! Also, it’s no surprise to see these girls on their two feet either—most primates are comfortable walking upright (bipedalism) for short bursts of time,” the park wrote in the post.
The park’s deputy director, Innocent Mburanumwe told BBC the gorillas had learned to imitate their caretakers, who have looked after them since they were less than four-months-old. According to Mburanumwe, they see the park rangers as their parents because the gorillas’ mothers were both killed in 2007.
According to the park’s website, around one-third of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas reside in Virunga National Park.
