Baby Gorilla Yakini hitching a ride on his mother’s back, Melbourne Zoo, circa 2000.

Yakini became world-famous after surviving a C-section at Melbourne Zoo in 1999. The precious primate was much photographed while in intensive care.

A year later, I was at Melbourne Zoo on assignment to photograph a honeyeater and spotted Yakini on his mother’s back through a crack in the fence while walking past the gorilla enclosure.

This chance encounter led to a once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunity. What joy — to realise I had an extremely long 800mm telephoto lens attached to my Nikon, or this capture wouldn’t have been possible!