Shades Magazine May issue | Page 18

An animal's paw is better than a man's hand!!!

"The greatness and moral progress of a nation can be judged by the way it treats animals."

As animal lover and activist, Shades is appalled at the rate at which pets are abandoned and lost thanks to irresponsible owners. Everyday, shelters and animal NGOs are struggling with the increasing rate of abandonment, and the sad part is, most of these animals are left to die a slow, painful, lonely death, unless they are lucky enough to be rescued. We have decided to give popularity to people that dedicate their lives to protect animals.

The gorillas that imitate men

Gorillas look like two actors, the picture becomes viral: but the selfie hides a dramatic story.

Mathieu Shamavu is the ranger of the Virunga National Park(Congo) author of the extraordinary self-portrait that portrays two gorillas in "cinema pose" which later became viral on the web. He says he was initially looking at his phone when the two gorillas, Ndeze and Ndakasi, began to imitate his movements. Ndeze and Ndakasi, according to park rangers, were orphaned twelve years ago when their families were killed by poachers. The first gorillas were left orphaned to be cared for in the center, the only one in the world for the care of orphans of mountain gorillas. "When the gorillas arrive at a young age, they learn a lot from us," says Mathieu. On a behavioral level they really like to imitate what happens around them, everything we do ".

He also reports that downtown rangers try to teach animals to survive in their natural habitat, but inevitably show "human-like behavior". The Senkwekwe center takes its name from one of the gorillas killed in Virunga in 2007. The orphaned gorillas need constant care, so the rangers live nearby and spend their days with them, feeding them, playing with them and keeping them company.