'The simplicity of life just hits you': Watch rare footage of critically endangered eastern lowland gorilla feeding her baby in the wild

Rare footage captures the moment an eastern lowland gorilla breastfeeds her baby in the tropical rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

"To see this behaviour so close was remarkable and what struck me was how familiar it looks, just like humans," filMMAker Vianet Djenguet told Live Science in an email. "The infant was suckling whilst looking at us, like I have seen in so many villages across the world. The simplicity of life just hits you."

The clip was filmed for the Emmy- and Peabody-winning PBS series "Nature," with the first episode of the new season — "Silverback" — following Djenguet as he documents the lives of eastern lowland gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri), a critically endangered subspecies of eastern gorillas (Gorilla beringei) found in the eastern part of the DRC.

Djenguet is working with DRC conservationists to habituate a group of gorillas in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park led by an alpha male known as Mpungwe. Habituation is the process of getting a group of gorillas used to the presence of humans so the Animals can generate income from tourism, allowing visitors to safely view them in the forest.

The revenue generated from tourism in the region would be used to protect the species and pay for local community efforts to reduce poaching and deforestation.

Related: Wild gorillas in Gabon eat plants with antibacterial abilities against drug-resistant E. coli

Habituation is not a straightforward or quick process, however. It hinges on the male silverback of the group accepting humans, which can take years to achieve. This is the second attempt to habituate Mpungwe, according to the BBC. Mpungwe was raised by habituated gorillas but was orphaned when his family was killed during a civil war, the BBC reports. Over time, he built a family with wild gorillas, and is fiercely protective of them.