A ranger comforts a gorilla after he loses his mother to poachers

Losing a parent is one of those tragic experiences that stays with us forever. Photographer, Phil Moore, was able to show that these feelings of intense sadness are not only felt by humans.

The Loss of a Mother

For this mountain gorilla, who had just lost his mother due to poaching, the pain could not be more real. It is evident in the photos the emotional distress the gorilla is feeling as he clings to the park ranger, Patrick Karabaranga, for comfort.

The Expressive Photo

The series of photos taken by Moore were taken in July 2012 in the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The photos show that gorillas are able to express emotion after suffering a loss. The photos also show the compassion felt by Patrick, and this is so necessary in a world where human activity is endangering the lives of wild gorillas and many other animals.

An Endangered Species

The mountain gorilla is an endangered species because of human activity. The massive amounts of deforestation occurring results in the destruction of the gorilla’s habitat, including other forest animals as well. Every day, more than 30, 000 hectares of tropical forest are destroyed for the forestry, agriculture or mining industries.

The gorillas are also threatened by poachers. They use the freight transport infrastructure to get through the forests to the gorillas. Recently, more efforts have been made to restore the population of wild gorillas, but as the picture shows, there is still a lot to do.

Do you think that animals feel the same emotions as humans do?

Source: The Dodo

Photo: Phil Moore