Hammy Gorillas Upstage Park Ranger in Excellent Selfie

Rachel E. Greenspan
Updated
The gorilla gals are your new favorite selfie queens

A couple of iconic gorillas were camera-ready when their human friend snapped a photo.

The two gorillas in question, Ndakazi and Ndeze at Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have gone viral after the park shared their picture earlier this week. According to the park’s caption, a lot of people couldn’t believe the perfectly captured moment was real.

If you’re a fan of the instant classic moment for these animals, park officials said in an Instagram post that the animals’ poses were completely genuine. “These gorilla gals are always acting cheeky so this was the perfect shot of their true personalities,” Monday’s caption says.

The photo has almost 50,000 likes on Instagram, including from celebrities like Chrissy Metz.

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

Both Ndakazi and Ndeze live at the Senkwekwe Center, the park’s sanctuary for orphaned mammals, since they were infants. Senkwekwe is a UNESCO World Heritage site and currently houses 22 gorillas, according to its website.

Virunga’s deputy director Innocent Mburanumwe told BBC News that it’s likely the animals had learned to imitate the physicality of their caretakers. Because they each lost their mothers when they were only a few months old, caretakers like these are almost like parents to them, Mburanumwe explained.

Though it’s common for primates to walk upright for “short bursts of time” as these two gorillas did, it’s important to remember that it is “never permitted to approach a gorilla in the wild” for safety purposes, the post warns.

Still, gorillas share over 90 percent of their DNA with humans, so it’s no surprise that the cheeky “gorilla gals” are your new selfie queens.