This fiesty female gorilla got in a bit of a flap when she stumbled across this cloud of butterflies.
Giant western lowland gorilla Malui was roaming through Central African Republic's dense Dzanga-Sangha forest when she encountered the fluttering friends.
Malui, who is estimated to be around 25 years old, first sniffed at the swarm, before charging through the middle and covering her head in disbelief.
Malui lives in the Dzanga Sangha Special Dense Forest Reserve, which was established in 1990 and covers 6865.54 km.
It is home to indigenous Baka pygmy tribes and many unique African animal and plant species - including these butterflies and their bemused goorilla neighbours.
But she needn't have feared the winged creatures - who were undoubtedly more panicked by her than she was of them.
Adult female gorillas usually weigh between 150 to 250lb and their upper body strength is six times more powerful than that of an adult human.
Western lowland gorillas, found only in central Africa, are now classified as Critically Endangered with their populations being decimated by habitat loss, disease and hunting, according to London Zoo.
The primates usually live together in family groups that are led by an alpha male commonly known as a ‘silverback’ because of a large strip of silver coloured hair that covers his back.
But the delicate butterflies need not have feared Malui snapping them up as a snack - the gorillas typically have a diet rich in fruit and also leaves, shoots, stalks, stems, vines and bark.
source: dailymail
Posts
