Some sceptics still think that human behavior doesn’t influence that of wild animals… In Congo, a forest ranger employed at a gorilla sanctuary demonstrated just the opposite in a photo. While taking a selfie, the two gorillas that were stood behind him raised up onto two legs, looked right at the camera and posed. The photo, which you can find in the video above, seems unreal, but is actually completely authentic and hasn’t been edited.
Discover our latest podcast
Human imitation
This selfie was posted on an anti-poaching group on Facebook on Thursday 18th April by Mathieu Shamvu, a forest ranger from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He works in the Virunga National Park.
This photo flew around the web fast and was picked up by several media sources. The wildlife park explained that the two gorillas in the photo joined the park when they were very young since their parents had been killed by poachers. They grew up in the Senkweke Center, an institution in the Virunga Park where young gorillas grow up. This sanctuary is ‘the world’s only sanctuary caring for mountain gorillas separated from their families by poaching or conflict’ as the park writes on their website.
According to Innocent Mburanumwe, the warden of the southern sector of the park, these two gorillas think of the rangers as their parents.
‘They are imitating the humans,’ he explained to the BBC. For these animals, standing on two legs is their way of ‘learning to be human beings.’
This behavior doesn’t conform to a great ape’s nature, despite their proximity to humans, which shows just how much our behavior can influence them.
Selfie: watch out, danger!
Although in this particular case, the forest ranger didn’t expect the gorillas to pose as they did, some individuals force wild species to behave like humans. Instagram decided to take action against selfies with exotic animal by banning them on their social media site.
The animals can suffer after-effects and irreparable damage from these photos. They can alter their behavior and can make them extremely aggressive.
Check out the video for a full look at the story!
