If we were able to immortalize Harambe, maybe we can do it again by helping these cute gorillas keep their homes alive.
This selfie from the Virunga National Park has made rounds on the internet with over 23,000 shares and 30,000 reactions on Facebook as of writing. In the photo, two female gorillas are standing with little smiles on their faces behind a park ranger. One of them even looks like she’s smiling over her shoulder. We stan primates who can serve looks.
The two were rescued by rangers from the conservation and grew up imitating their caretakers’ behavior, including standing. “It’s very curious to see how a gorilla can imitate a human and stand up,” deputy director Innocent Mburanumwe tells BBC.
In response to the viral post, Virunga urges people to help out in keeping Ndakazi and Ndeze, the two gorillas, safe. Poaching is a huge problem in the Congos. Ndakazi and Ndeze’s kind are always in danger of being harmed, and the rangers who are tasked to protect them are getting killed in the process. Since 1996, over 130 rangers have been killed on the job.
Because of the viral photo, $50,000 has been raised for the conservation. If you want to pitch in, you can donate through their website. Let’s protect everybody in that photo at all costs.