Ndakasi, the beloved mountain gorilla who went viral for a photo, has died at age 14

(CNN) – Ndakasi, a mountain gorilla whose image went viral when she snuck into a selfie of her keeper, has died at age 14.
The gorilla died on September 26 after a prolonged illness, according to a statement published Tuesday by the Virunga National Park, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“Virunga announces with sincere sadness the death of the beloved orphaned mountain gorilla, Ndakasi, who was in the care of the Park’s Senkwekwe Center for more than a decade,” the park said.

“Ndakasi breathed his last in the loving arms of his lifelong friend and caregiver, Andre Bauma,” he added.

The Senkekwe Center, located inside the park, is the only facility in the world that cares for orphaned mountain gorillas.

Bauma had cared for Ndakasi since guards found her clinging to her dead mother’s body in 2007, when she was just two months old.

Ndakasi was too vulnerable to return to the wild, so he lived with other orphaned mountain gorillas until his death.

“It was a privilege to support and care for such a loving creature, especially knowing the trauma that Ndakasi suffered at a very young age. It was Ndakasi’s sweet nature and intelligence that helped me understand the connection between humans and great apes. and why we must do everything possible to protect them, “Bauma said in the statement.

“I am proud to have called Ndakasi my friend. I loved her like a child and her cheerful personality made me smile every time I interacted with her. All of us at Virunga will miss her, but we will always be grateful for the wealth that Ndakasi brought to our lives while staying at Senkwekwe. “

Ndakasi appeared in several TV shows and movies, including a documentary called “Virunga”, but it was his “photobomb”In 2019 which led to world fame.

In the picture, Ndakazi appears alongside another female gorilla, named Ndeze. The pair seem to have a natural talent in front of the camera; One of them stands proudly in a powerful pose with her feet wide apart, while the other leans forward to be pictured alongside Ranger Mathieu Shamavu.

“Another day at the office …” Shamavu wrote alongside the image, which quickly went viral after being shared on Facebook.

When Ndakasi was born in 2007, mountain gorillas were critically endangered, according to the park.

His mother was killed by an armed group in a series of massacres of gorilla families. These massacres led to institutional and security reforms in the park that “significantly strengthened the protection of the Virunga mountain gorillas,” according to the statement.

More than 200 rangers have been killed in the park, Reuters reported in January.

“However, over the course of Nsakasi’s life, the species has grown by 47%, from 720 individuals in 2007 to about 1,063 in 2021,” the park said.

“Ndakasi’s death underscores the importance of protecting gorillas in their natural habitat, where they thrive and where their life expectancy is greatest,” he added.