The life and death of a gorilla, in two viral photos

There is a photo went viral in 2019, of two mountain gorillas behind a park ranger as he takes a selfie in Virunga National Park in Congo.

A gorilla seems to glance at the human with all the simply moderate interest of a New Yorker, waiting on a subway platform, his hands by his side, as if buried in imaginary pockets. The second gorilla, just behind the ranger, seems to be leaning over the shot, as if to say: “Hello! Look who’s there too!”

This is Ndakasi, whose death at the age of 14 was reported this week by Virunga National Park. Ndakasi has been in the park since he was 2 years old. Rangers found her shortly after her mother and other family members were slaughtered by armed militias. The baby gorilla was in the care of a ranger named Andre Bauma.

They changed each other’s life.

“She was small, she weighed only a few pounds,” he told a BBC 2014 program. “We shared the same bed, I played with her, I fed her …”

Ndakasi grew up strong and healthy – she loved Pringles, crisps – but remained cheerful.

“Every time she sees me she rides on my back like she would her mother,” Bauma told the BBC. He became the head of the orphanage in the park, and spent 3 weeks there, a week at home.

“My human family understands that my work with gorillas is important,” he said. “I have a part of love that I give to my gorilla family and a part of love that I give to my human family.”

This week, another photo toured the world. Ndakasi, looking weary and near death, was curled up with her large head, her soft eyes, on Bauma’s strong shoulder. They looked like two beings giving each other comfort, companionship, and solace in times of need.

Bauma said in a statement from the Virunga National Park orphanage that knowing Ndakasi “helped me to understand the connection between humans and great apes and why we should do everything in our power to help them. protect …

“I loved her like a child,” he said. “Her cheerful personality made me smile every time I interacted with her.”

Two strong and playful spirits of the world who have found each other.

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