Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

22nd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Hope

This image shows a baby gorilla in the mountains of Rwanda holding a yellow flower, looking directly at the camera. I was with a group trekking when we found the family of gorillas we were looking for. The large group had several large adults, several juveniles, and a few babies. After letting them get used to us, I began searching for individuals to photograph. I came across this baby fuzzy gorilla investigating flowers in the mountain foliage. The moment was such an innocent, curious encounter. Its eyes went back and forth between the flower and me, and I'm not sure what species was more attractive to the gorilla. To me, gorillas are a sign of hope for the conservation community because of how they were able to rebound as a population.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 04.2022
Date Uploaded: 10.2024
Photo Location: Kinigi, Rwanda
Copyright: © Derek Nielsen