Nairobi News

A Congolese park ranger has gone viral on social media after he posting photos of two gorillas who posed for selfies with him.

The two gorillas were snapped imitating humans and standing on their two feet as the park ranger, who helped rescue them as babies, took photos.

Ranger Mathieu Shamavu of Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo shared the pictures on social media, with one of the gorillas placing its hands on its hips and tossing its head back while the other peeps behind the ranger’s shoulder.

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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

A post shared by Virunga National Park (@virunganationalpark) on Apr 22, 2019 at 4:03am PDT

The park also took to social media to acknowledge that the pictures were real.

“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.”

The ranger captioned the picture; “Another day at the office…”

The image has so far been shared more than 30,000 times.