The photo of the agony of a gorilla in the arms of its guardian – News

Thousands of people were shocked by the photo of a dying gorilla that was killed in the arms of its guardian in a Congolese national park, as the image contrasts with a fun viral selfie that the same animal had played in 2019.

It is I’m not, a mountain gorilla who had a life marked by difficulty: In June 2017, when she was only two months old, she was found by park rangers of the famous Virunga National Park hugging the lifeless body of her mother, who had been killed by guerrillas a few hours earlier.

The little primate was transferred to a rescue center in Goma, where she met André Bauma, who will be her great human friend throughout her life.

Due to her vulnerable status due to the murder of her mother, Ndakasi then moved to the Senkwekwe Center, located in the Virunga National Park, the oldest in Africa and which preserves a quarter of the mountain gorilla population. : there she grew up surrounded by caretakers, including André, and other orphan gorillas.

His development has been documented by hundreds of photographs and documentaries, but one image in particular has toured the world: in 2019, he starred in a funny selfie with a caregiver that went viral as part of the International Day. of the earth.

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But life awaited Ndakasi for a dramatic end and, paradoxically, also portrayed in a moving image.

After more than a decade at the Senkwekwe Center and After a prolonged illness that quickly deteriorated his health, the famous mountain gorilla died on the night of September 26.

As in those difficult moments when her life was in danger after the murder of her mother, the guard André Bauma held her in his arms and protected her until his last breath.

“It was a privilege to take care of such a loving child, especially knowing the trauma Ndakasi had suffered at a young age. It is her gentle nature and intelligence that has helped me understand the connection between humans and large primates and why we should do our best to protect them.. I am proud to have befriended Ndakasi – I loved her like a girl and her cheerful personality made me smile every time I interacted with her. In Virunga she will be missed by all of us, but we will always be grateful to have enriched our lives during her stay in Senkwekwe, “Bauma said after the death of the famous mountain gorilla, who also starred in the documentary. “Virunga”, one of the first produced by Netflix.