21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
A Shy Look

One of the infants in the Igisha family of Rwanda's Virunga National Park slowly emerges in between the various types of shrubs and plants in the ecosystem to take a look at the human visitors. Finding Mountain Gorilla's in the Virunga Mountains used to be nearly impossible. At the time of Dian Fossey's research in the 1970s, there were only 300 of these creatures left, and their extinction was only a matter of time. Thanks to the successful conservation efforts working with the local communities, it is now possible to find over 1000 Gorillas in this habitat, most of them in Rwanda's Virunga National Park.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 06.2023
Date Uploaded: 10.2023
Photo Location: Rwanda
Camera: OM-1
Copyright: © Florian Kriechbaumer