What you see is not just a photograph. It is a final farewell. See more,,,

What you see is not just a photograph.
It is a final farewell.
A promise kept until the very last breath.
It is an image of love — rare, quiet, stronger than fear, loneliness, and even death.
A story that cannot be forgotten.

Ndakasi was a mountain gorilla.
When she was just two months old, rangers in Virunga National Park — deep in the heart of Congo — found her clinging to the lifeless body of her mother, who had been killed by poachers.
She didn’t run. She held on tightly to her mother, as if she could still save her.

That’s when André Bauma appeared — a young wildlife ranger.
He had nothing but his bare hands.
He picked up that small, trembling body and held her to his chest.
He stayed with her the entire night, warming her with his own body, praying she would survive.
And she did.

From that moment on, they were inseparable.
Ndakasi was taken to the world’s only orphanage for mountain gorillas — the Senkwekwe Center.
There, she learned to breathe again. To trust again. To live again.

Over time, she became well known.
In 2019, a photo of her went viral — standing upright, smiling, eyes fixed on the camera as if to say: “I’m here. And I’m okay.”
Millions shared that photo with a smile.
But few knew the story behind it.

Because Ndakasi wasn’t just a “funny gorilla.”
She was a survivor.
Of war. Of poachers. Of the destruction of her home. Of isolation.
And despite everything — she still knew how to love.

Because for fourteen years, she had someone who never left her side.
André was her home.
Not just a caretaker — a friend.
The one constant in a world full of chaos.

Then came illness.
Her body grew weaker each day.
But André never left her.
He watched over her without pause. Without words.
And when she knew the end was near, she did the one thing she knew best:
She laid her head on his chest —
and fell asleep.
Forever.

Imagine that moment.
The silence after the last breath.
A heart still beating — shattered.
And the gentle weight of trust that had just let go.

That is love.
Not in grand gestures, but in presence.
In hands that never let go.
In eyes that never look away.
In a bond that needs no explanation.

Ndakasi wasn’t just a gorilla.
She was a friend — a creature who walked through hell and still blossomed, thanks to care and tenderness.
She was a piece of nature that looked us straight in the eye and asked:
“And you? What are you doing with the love you’ve received?”

Remember her name: Ndakasi.
The gorilla who made the world smile, and passed away in the arms of the man who loved her until the very end.

Let her story enlighten us.
Let her memory remind us that every living being deserves respect, protection…
and a heart ready to hold it — even in its final moment.