Ndakasi, mountain gorilla who became selfie star dies in the arms of her caretaker

 

A mountain gorilla whose picture went viral after she photobombed a park ranger's selfie has died at 14.

Ndakazi "took her final breath in the loving arms of her caretaker and lifelong friend, Andre Bauma," a statement from the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo said Tuesday.

She died last month after battling a prolonged illness at the park's Senkwekwe Center where she had lived for more than a decade, the statement added.

Bauma had looked after Ndakasi ever since she was found clinging to her dead mother's body by national park rangers and taken to the center which is known for taking care of orphaned mountain gorillas, the statement said.

Her mother had been shot by armed militia as part of a series of killings of gorilla families, it added. 

Source nbcnews