It is the season to be jolly, to spread love and laughter, peace and frolic and this baby gorilla seems to be a pro in this. This news comes all the way from a sanctuary situated in the Democratic Republic of Congo where a baby gorilla was recently rescued from animal traffickers and the little one expressed her gratitude by giggling uncontrollably.
Lulingu was eight-months-old when she lost her parents. They were killed while protecting Lulingu from being taken away by traffickers. The baby gorilla was rescued from the traffickers in February 2016 in the Virunga National Park. The video shows the tiny creature laughing and grunting uncontrollably as the carer tickles her under the armpits.
The video footage has been shot at the GRACE center which protects the endangered Grauer's gorilla thriving in the African Nation. As per reports only 5,000 of them are left.
The narrator in the video states that the main aim of GRACE is to rehabilitate baby gorillas after they have been rescued from the poachers and to reintroduce them in the wild. Sadly, these animals will soon disappear and hence the task falls on everyone to protect this species from becoming endangered.
According to IUCN, the Eastern Gorilla, one of the largest living primate has been listed as critically endangered due to illegal hunting. Four out of six great apes are one step away from extinction. As per the data by IUCN, in the last 20 years, the gorilla population has declined by 70 percent and has lost 77 percent of its population since 1994.
"To see the Eastern gorilla – one of our closest cousins – slide towards extinction is truly distressing. We live in a time of tremendous change and each IUCN Red List update makes us realize just how quickly the global extinction crisis is escalating. Conservation action does work and we have increasing evidence of it. It is our responsibility to enhance our efforts to turn the tide and protect the future of our planet," said Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General.
"Caregivers strive to take complete care of babies. Baby gorillas like to play. GRACE is a center that rehabilitates baby gorillas rescued from poachers," said the video's narrator. "These are animals that, if we don't make the effort, are going to disappear soon. We need to try to protect them," he further added.
