When gorillas enjoy posing for a selfie

Two friendly gorillas at the Virunga National Park in Congo posed for selfies with two of dedicated anti-poaching rangers.

A photo posted by a Congolese ranger showing him with two posing gorillas in the Virunga National Park has gone viral online.

What’s special about this photo is that the gorillas in the background are not just in the frame but seem to actually be posing for the camera.

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According to Innocent Mburanumwe, the Deputy Director of the Virunga National Park, the gorillas were orphaned in 2007.

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Gorillas don’t normally stand up on two feet, but they have learned the act through imitating the humans around them.

For rangers at the Virunga National Park a day at work can involve endangered gorillas, conservation work in difficult conditions and the occasional selfie.

On Thursday a ranger used Facebook to share a photo of what he called “another day at the office”.

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He posted an image of himself with two gorillas, which soon spread across social media. The great apes are standing upright and apparently posing for the picture.

The park’s website says the Rangers risk “their lives on a daily basis to safeguard the park’s exceptional wildlife”.

Despite the turmoil which surrounds it Virunga is also home to more than half the global population of mountain gorillas.

The ongoing conflict in the DRC has impacted the gorilla population in Virunga but the park’s conservation efforts meant there were 880 mountain gorillas in the area in 2015.

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