A Congolese park ranger has gone viral after he posted a selfie of him with the gorillas he and fellow guards have cared for since the animals were born on Thursday.

According to the BBC, the mountain gorillas are housed at Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they are being attended to since the death of their mothers by poachers in July 2007.

Virunga's Deputy Director Innocent Mburanumwe explained to the BBC the rare but amusing pose.

"They are imitating the humans," he said.

Their technique of standing upright means they are "learning to be human beings."

"I was very surprised to see it… so it's very funny. It's very curious to see how a gorilla can imitate a human and stand up," Mburanumwe added.


Of course, the internet couldn't help but put its comedic twist on the now-viral photo. 

The life of an anti-poaching ranger comes with a risky price tag. Per an April 2018 report from the BBC, five rangers lost their lives at Virunga last year, adding to the more than 130 park rangers who have died since 1996. The Independent adds the possibility of violence to the 600-person anti-poaching unit is so severe that officials shut down Virunga from May 2018 to February 2019 following the death of one ranger and the abduction of two tourists from England.

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