The fragile baby gradually became a strong, energetic gorilla.
Virunga described her as growing into a happy and boisterous adolescent.
Those who cared for her came to know an animal with a distinct personality rather than simply an anonymous member of an endangered subspecies.
Her life at Senkwekwe also offered the wider public a rare glimpse into the intelligence, playfulness and emotional complexity of mountain gorillas.
Ndakasi became particularly well known through photographs and documentaries.
She appeared in the acclaimed documentary Virunga, which drew international attention to the extraordinary biodiversity of the national park and the dangers facing the people attempting to protect it.
In one memorable sequence noted by Virunga, Ndakasi could be seen laughing while being tickled by a caretaker.
It was a moment far removed from the tragedy of her first months.
The infant once found terrified beside her dead mother had become playful, confident and comfortable with the humans who looked after her.
Then, years later, Ndakasi became famous for a very different reason.
The Gorilla Behind a Viral Selfie
In 2019, a photograph from Virunga spread rapidly around the internet.
It showed two mountain gorillas, Ndakasi and Ndeze, standing upright behind park ranger Mathieu Shamavu as though they were deliberately posing for a photograph.
Their relaxed posture and almost humanlike stance captivated millions of people.
Virunga later described the pair as standing comfortably on two legs, their personalities unmistakable in the image.
For many people around the world, the viral photograph became their introduction to Ndakasi.
But behind the amusing image was a serious conservation story.
These gorillas were comfortable around the rangers because the people around them had spent years caring for them.
Their unusual relationship with humans was not the result of domestication for entertainment.
It was the consequence of tragedy.
Both animals depended upon specialized care because events in the wild had left them unable to live normally with their original families.
The photograph also helped draw attention to a species whose continued survival has required extraordinary conservation efforts.
A Species Living in a Fragile Corner of Africa
Mountain gorillas, scientifically known as Gorilla beringei beringei, are a subspecies of eastern gorilla.
Their natural range is extremely limited.
They survive in two main populations: one in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable region and another in the Virunga volcanic landscape spanning parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.
For decades, their future appeared deeply uncertain.
Habitat loss, poaching, disease, armed conflict and human encroachment all threatened their survival.
The history of Virunga National Park demonstrates how closely wildlife conservation in the region is connected with political instability and human security.
The park was established in 1925 and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
But it lies in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a region that has experienced repeated episodes of armed conflict.
Rangers protecting Virunga's wildlife have frequently worked under extraordinarily dangerous conditions.
In January 2021 alone, Virunga reported that six park rangers were killed in an ambush by armed assailants.
Such incidents help explain why Ndakasi's story cannot be separated from the wider sacrifices made to protect mountain gorillas.
The people responsible for their survival do not always work in peaceful reserves far removed from human conflict.
Some operate in landscapes where the work itself can be deadly.
The Tragedy That Defined Ndakasi's Beginning
The violence surrounding Virunga was present from the beginning of Ndakasi's life.
In 2007, the year she was orphaned, mountain gorillas in the park suffered a series of killings that shocked conservation organizations.
WWF reported that four mountain gorillas were killed in Virunga in July of that year, part of a wider pattern of deaths that created serious fears for the species. At the time, the global wild population was estimated at only around 700 individuals.
Ndakasi survived a period when every individual mountain gorilla mattered enormously to conservationists.
Her rescue therefore carried significance far beyond the fate of one animal.
Saving her meant preserving one more member of an extremely vulnerable population.
But the years following her rescue also demonstrated that conservation could make a difference.
Mountain gorilla numbers began to recover in parts of their range thanks to intensive monitoring, veterinary care, ranger patrols and cooperation between conservation organizations, governments and nearby communities.
WWF has documented increases in mountain gorilla numbers in the Virunga landscape over several decades despite war and instability.
Ndakasi's life unfolded against that remarkable conservation effort.
More Than a Job
For André Bauma and other Senkwekwe caretakers, looking after orphaned gorillas required far more than feeding and medical observation.
Young great apes need social interaction.
They form relationships.
They respond to familiarity and trust.
Bauma spent years participating in that emotional world.
Virunga later described him not only as Ndakasi's caretaker but as her lifelong friend.
That language reflects how deeply bonded the two became.