Two gorillas have been
photographed posing for a relaxed selfie with the rangers who rescued them as
babies.
The image was taken at
a gorilla orphanage in Virunga National Park, DR Congo, where the animals were
raised after poachers killed their parents.
The park’s deputy
director told BBC Newsday that they had learned to imitate their carers, who
have looked after them since they were found.
The gorillas, he
added, think of the rangers as their parents.
Innocent Mburanumwe,
deputy director of Virunga, told the BBC that that the gorillas’ mothers were
both killed in July 2007.
The gorillas were just two and four months old at the time.
RANGER MATHIEU SHAMAVU
Shortly afterwards,
they were found and taken to Senkwekwe Sanctuary in Virunga, where they have
lived ever since.
Because they’ve grown
up with the rangers who rescued them, Mr Mburanumwe added, “they are
imitating the humans” – and standing on two legs is their way of
“learning to be human beings”.
But it “doesn’t
happen normally”, he said.
“I was very
surprised to see it… so it’s very funny. It’s very curious to see how a
gorilla can imitate a human and stand up.”
Being a ranger,
however, is not always fun – it is mainly dangerous work.
Five rangers were killed in Virunga National Park last year in an
ambush by suspected rebels, and more than 130 park rangers have been killed in
Virunga since 1996.
Eastern DR Congo is
mired in conflict between the government and various armed groups.
Some of these armed
groups are based in the park, where they often poach animals.
Source: BBC.com