A selfie of a park ranger showing him with two standing gorillas photographed in a relaxed pose has taken the internet by storm.
This photo is special in a way that the gorillas in the background are not just in the frame but appear to actually be posing for the photo.
The image was taken at a gorilla orphanage in Virunga National Park, DR Congo, where the apes were raised after poachers killed their parents when they were just two and four months old.
The gorillas were later raised by the rangers whom they have since then taken as their parents.
In an interview, the deputy director of Virunga, Innocent Mburanumwe, said that such a scenery (of gorillas standing on both legs) “doesn’t happen normally”.
“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.”
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”.
The fascinating photo of the endangered apes that appeared to be posing casually standing upright “like soldiers saluting a flag” was taken by Mathieu Shamavu, the ranger who is part of an the anti-poaching unit.
This photo was later uploaded on the Park’s Facebook page with a caption ”Another day in the office” which instantly drew massive attention online mostly because users couldn’t believe it.
The park, however, addressed those disquiets on Instagram page affirming that the photo was real.
The park also commented that the viral photo was taken under “exceptional circumstances,” adding, “It is never permitted to approach a gorilla in the wild.”
It should however be noted that the Virunga national park in DRC boarders with Uganda’s Bwindi impenetrable which world over is known as a habitat of the highest percentage number of the living gorillas.
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