Mbandaka, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the
Pictures of the Year: A Picture and its Story
A dead red-tailed monkey hangs by its tail above the ground, in order to keep it away from ants, in the forest near the city of Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of the Congo, April 5, 2019. Reuters Photographer Thomas Nicolon: "I slept overnight with the poachers in the forest. The sun had risen above the canopy, there was still fog over the river and the hunters packing their dugout canoes ready to leave. That day we would go back to the city of Mbandaka after spending four days in the rainforest hunting bushmeat. The monkey that had been killed the day before was hanging from a tree above the water, in order to prevent ants from eating it. Its baby had been crying all night. They would eat it a few hours later. I grabbed my camera and got closer to the dead monkey. I wanted to show the crude reality of hunting. Hours earlier the monkey was swinging from branch to branch, high up in the trees, a symbol of CongoÕs rich biodiversity. But by morning it was just flesh. It had been disemboweled, and it was now a symbol of Congo's empty forests." REUTERS/Thomas Nicolon/File Photo SEARCH "POY STORIES 2019" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
