In 2007, deep in the forests of Congo, rangers from Virunga National Park stumbled upon a heartbreaking scene. A tiny gorilla, just two months old, clung desperately to the body of her mother. Her mother had been killed by poachers, and the infant’s cries echoed with grief too great for her small frame. The baby’s name was Ndakasi.
For most gorillas orphaned in the wild, the story ends in despair. But for Ndakasi, this was the beginning of a journey that would touch hearts around the world.
When she was brought to the park’s orphanage, she was weak, traumatized, and terrified. That night, as storms raged and rain hammered down, one man made a decision that changed everything. Andre Bauma, a caretaker at the sanctuary, refused to leave her side. He held the fragile gorilla against his bare chest, his warmth replacing the heartbeat she had lost.
“Through a torrential rainstorm that lasted all night,” park staff later wrote, “Andre held baby Ndakasi tightly to his bare chest to keep her warm and give her comfort.”
From that moment forward, she was never alone again.
With Andre and the other caretakers by her side, Ndakasi grew stronger. She learned to play, to laugh, to climb, and to love again. Where fear had once lived, trust bloomed. Visitors and staff alike marveled at her gentle spirit, her expressive eyes, and her mischievous nature. In time, she became a symbol of resilience—not just surviving, but thriving.
In 2019, Virunga Park shared a now-famous selfie of Ndakasi with her caretakers. In the photo, she stands tall, her posture almost human, her expression filled with quiet pride. It was a picture that made millions smile, but behind the laughter was a deeper truth: Ndakasi’s life was a gift, made possible by compassion.
Every day after her rescue was borrowed time. Every sunrise she greeted, every embrace she shared, was a victory over the cruelty that had tried to take her life too soon.
But in 2021, at just 14 years old, illness came for her. For weeks, her health declined. And when the end finally drew near, it was Andre who was there, just as he had been on her very first night.
“Ndakasi took her final breath in the loving arms of her caretaker and lifelong friend, Andre Bauma,” the park announced.
The image of their last embrace—Andre cradling the gorilla who had become his daughter in every way but blood—spread across the world. It was heartbreaking, yet profoundly beautiful. It showed us that love transcends species, that grief and tenderness are universal, and that family is not only born—it is chosen, built, and nurtured.
Ndakasi’s story is not just about loss. It is about the power of human kindness to rewrite endings. It is about the rangers, the caretakers, and the quiet heroes of Virunga who risk everything to protect gorillas like her. And it is about Andre—a man whose heart proved that love can save lives, even if only for a while.
“There is a bond that ties us together,” Andre said. “A relationship that is very, very close between the guardians and the gorillas.”
Ndakasi may be gone, but her spirit lives on in every smile her selfies brought, in every tear shed over her final embrace, and in every gorilla still being protected because of the awareness her story raised.
She came into this world in tragedy, but she left it surrounded by love. And that love—Andre’s love—will never be forgotten.
