I'm the king of the Thinkers: Pensive gorilla strikes pose of famous meditative sculpture by Rodin

By Chris Parsons

Last updated at 9:53 PM on 9th January 2012

There comes a time in a chap's life when he needs to get away from the crowd for a moment and ponder the universe.

And if he ends up being compared to Rodin's The Thinker, who cares?

This young western lowland gorilla's contemplative pose, reminiscent of the 1902 bronze-and-marble sculpture, was captured at the French animal park La Vallee des Singes.

Striking a pose: Photographer Sophie Narses spotted the pensive ape in a thoughtful mood sitting just like Rodin's Thinker.

While most of his fellow zoo animals prefer to monkey around all day, the majestic ape pondered his existence just like the well-known sculpture depicting a man in sober meditation.

Keen photographer Sophie Narses, 20, who captured the striking image, said: 'I went several times to see one particular family of gorillas, but I noticed that this teenage one was very playful and always testing the reactions he got from visitors.

'Whenever I went I would always train my camera on him hoping he would do something spectacular. And sure enough one day he did!'

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Miss Narses added: 'On this occasion I expected him to just climb up a tree, but he looked at me as if to say watch this.

'He turned and took up the Thinker position. I took the picture and he screamed and beat his chest with his hands proudly.

'He held it for two or three minutes so I managed to get a couple of good, clear shots of him doing it.

Deep in thought: Photographer Sophie said the ape held the thoughtful pose for several minutes before beatings its chest and moving away

Photographer Sophie Narses, who has been taking pictures for around five years, caught magic moment at La Vallie des Singes monkey park in Poitiers, France

'It was amazing to see. It felt as though his normal behaviour was just him playing up for the camera and in fact he is actually a very intelligent animal.'

The Thinker is a bronze and marble sculpture by Auguste Rodin from 1902.

Since the original numerous other castings have been made and is often used to represent philosophy.

But in this ape's case, he looks like he is dreaming of life in the wild.

Miss Narses, from Lyon, France, added: 'It is hard to say what he is thinking about, but it could be something profound, or it he may just be thinking thoughts of boredom and freedom.'

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