Bartamaha (Nairobi):- They are among our closest relatives – and if this photograph doesn’t prove that gorillas can be startlingly human, nothing will.

The hilarious – if somewhat eerie – image shows a young gorilla named Kumi rolling on his back having a good old belly laugh.

His giggle-fit was caught on camera by photographer Evan Hambrick as he peered by chance through the bushes of Kumi’s enclosure.

Kumi can be seen mouthing a laugh just like a child would do if they got the giggles.

Mr Hambrick spent weeks watching Kumi and other gorillas at the Bronx Zoo, in New York.

He said he spent hours near the gorillas every day so that he could capture their most natural behaviours.

Mr Hambrick, 27, said: ‘It really makes me smile when I see this picture, it’s like when you see a human laugh it’s kind of infectious.

‘I managed to take the picture when Kumi didn’t even know I was there and I think the shot really shows a natural emotion.

‘All great apes like gorillas have the ability to laugh and smile. They can smile like humans and also vocally laugh like humans.

‘I have seen alpha males spend hours tickling the youngest chimpanzees while the young chimp has a playful smile and an audible laugh.’

Mr Hambrick, who is himself from New York, spends weeks every year monitoring apes in captivity and documenting their behaviour up close.

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Source:- Dailymail.

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