There are many good people in the world who dedicate their lives to helping wildlife in need. The task is even more important when working with orphaned animals.
These caregivers become like the parents of these animals and form a close bond and trust.
And recently, the viral photos of a zookeeper with their favorite gorillas show how amazing these connections are.
Matthew Shamavu, a park ranger in Virunga National Park, Congo, works as the administrator of the park’s mountain gorilla orphanage.
Since no parents could raise them, the gorillas had to rely on Matthew for care and protection. Over time, the gorilla has clearly grown to love and trust him.
Two orphaned gorillas, the Nadakaze and the Ndizi, have a close relationship with their protector.
“I’m still close to them and they feel good,” Matteo told The Dodo.
There are lots of funny photos of Matthew walking around the park with his favorite primates on Instagram. They show how close their bond really is.
But one cool shot really caught the audience’s attention. Matthew takes a “selfie” with Ndakazi and Ndizzi and apparently realizes he’s taking a picture, looks straight into the camera and it even looks like he’s taking a picture.
It’s a pretty cool picture – so much so that when it went viral online, people didn’t even think it was real!
Some commentators said it looked like Photoshop or even two people in gorilla costumes. When the photo went viral, Virunga National Park had to show that it was 100% real, and this is how gorillas behave.
“Yes, it’s real!” You wrote on Instagram. “These gorilla girls are always rude, so this was the perfect shot for their real characters!”
The disbelief is largely due to the fact that both gorillas are standing upright, which primates can comfortably do for a short time, but still a rare sight to snap a photo.
Innocent Mboranumwe, the park’s assistant director, believes the gorilla’s upright position was the result of being raised by humans.
He told the BBC, “I was surprised to see her … so she’s so funny.” “It is very strange to see a gorilla imitate a human and get up.”
While the viral selfie shows the fun and family relationship between these caregivers and their gorillas, the mission is far from fun and games.
Park rangers have to protect gorillas from dangerous poachers and often come into conflict with armed rebel militias in the region.
Five rangers were killed in the park last year, and 130 rangers have been killed since 1996, according to the BBC.
Since gorillas are an endangered species, protecting them is an important task. We are happy that these caregivers are giving their lives to help these animals – and even to give them a family.
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What a nice picture! This gorilla clearly loves Matthew, really trusts him, and knows she is safe and secure. Keep it up!
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