Fotografija je nastala v gorilji sirotišnici Nacionalnega parka Virunga v Demokratični republiki Kongo, kjer približno 600 gozdnih čuvajev skrbi za osirotele gorile, ki so zaradi krivolovcev ostale brez staršev. Ti mladiči zaradi stalne interakcije imitirajo svoje oskrbnike in jih imajo za svoje starše. Namestnik direktorja parka Innocent Mburanumwe je za BBC dejal, da je bila gorilama na fotografiji, samičkama Ndakazi in Ndeze, ubita mama, ko sta bili stari dva oziroma štiri mesece, z njima pa je oskrbnik Mathieu Shamavu, ki ju je takrat rešil.

Mburanumwe sicer pravi, da je posnemanje človeškega vedenja nekaj običajnega, ni pa v navadi, da se gorile sprehajajo po dveh nogah. »Presenečen sem bil, ko sem to prvič videl, zelo smešno je. Nenavadno je videti gorilo, ki posnema človeka na takšen način.« Kljub tovrstnim zabavnim trenutkom je delo gozdnih čuvajev izredno nevarno, lani je bilo recimo v zasedi krivolovcev ubitih pet, od leta 1996 pa kar 130 pogumnih posameznikov. Vzhodni Kongo je sicer žarišče spopadov med vlado in številnimi militantnimi skupinami, ki so situirane na območju 790.000 hektarjev velikega parka.

Poboji teh živali so zaradi okoliščin zelo pogosti, skoraj 60.000 všečkov na instagramu in okoli 3.000 deljenj na facebooku tako ni le statističen podatek za družbena omrežja, temveč pomemben korak k še večji ozaveščenosti o problemu. Gorske gorile so namreč izredno ogrožena vrsta, v divjini jih po svetu, večina od tega v parku Virunga (sicer delu Unescove svetovne dediščine) živi le še okoli 1000. Kot posledica deljenja objave so bila v zelo kratkem času v obliki donacij zbrana zelo dobrodošla denarna sredstva.

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You might have recently seen caretakers Mathieu and Patrick’s amazing selfie with female orphaned gorillas Ndakazi and Ndeze inside the Senkwekwe center at Virunga National Park. We’ve received dozens of messages about the photo. 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. Guys, if you shared our gorilla selfie post, please share our Earth Day posts as well! Conserving Virunga’s amazing wildlife is a constant challenge for the Park and our work wouldn’t be possible without your support. Matching funds have been pledged on every donation to the Park today, up to a total of $25,000—giving us the opportunity to raise $50,000 for Virunga! Visit virunga.org/donate or click the link in our bio to get involved and keep sharing our posts! Thank you! *We want to emphasize that these gorillas are in an enclosed sanctuary for orphans to which they have lived since infancy. The caretakers at Senkwekwe take great care to not put the health of the gorillas in danger. These are exceptional circumstances in which the photo was taken. It is never permitted to approach a gorilla in the wild. #gorillaselfie #gorilla #mountaingorilla #mountaingorillaselfie #selfie #earthday #earthday2019 #virunga #virunganationalpark #congo #drcongo #rdc #drc #protecttheplanet #happyearthday #wildlife #wildlifeconservation #conservation #natureconservation

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