Year of the Gorilla

T. Breuer ©WCS - MPI-EVA

More good news for Africa’s beleaguered apes: The year 2009 has been designated the Year of the Gorilla. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a key supporter of this worldwide initiative, which was launched in Rome on December 1 at the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. Earlier this year, WCS conservationists discovered 125,000 western lowland gorillas in the Republic of Congo and helped create a new national park to protect Cross River gorillas in Cameroon.

The Year of the Gorilla campaign will support action to protect gorilla habitat. It will fund and train rangers, support scientific research, raise awareness about the plight of gorillas, and help develop ecotourism and other alternative sources of income for people living near gorilla habitat.

Partners in the Year of the Gorilla campaign include the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP), in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP); the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).

WCS will join these partners in worldwide activities and announce its own Year of the Gorilla campaign to highlight the importance of saving wildlife and wild places around the world. More details will come early next year.

“The Wildlife Conservation Society is working to protect all four gorilla subspecies,” said WCS President and CEO Dr. Steven E. Sanderson. “We are enthusiastic about the world’s interest in gorillas and know that it will take an effort by many partners to ultimately save this iconic species from extinction.”

WCS leads and supports research and conservation projects throughout the gorilla’s range. In Central Africa, WCS works with governments, indigenous communities, and the private sector to establish management programs and effective law enforcement measures to protect gorillas and other wildlife. WCS works to stem the bushmeat trade, targeting both local and urban markets through education and outreach efforts. WCS-Africa and Global Health staff is testing methods to control the spread of Ebola and other diseases in great ape populations. At its world-famous Bronx Zoo, home to North America’s largest gorilla group, WCS has raised more than $8.5 million for conservation in Central Africa.

“The Wildlife Conservation Society and our partners have worked closely with the U.S. Government through its Great Ape Conservation Fund and Congo Basin Forest Partnership, which has provided key funding and support to protect Congo wildlife, prominently including great apes,” said John Calvelli, WCS Executive Vice President for Public Affairs. “We are hopeful that the Year of the Gorilla will help inform the Obama Administration of the important work being done.”

The Year of the Gorilla is part of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Next year marks 50 years since WCS senior conservationist George Schaller began his landmark study of the mountain gorilla, subsequently publishing two books: The Mountain Gorilla and The Year of the Gorilla.

The main threats to gorillas are hunting for food and traditional medicine, destruction of habitat through logging, mining and production of charcoal, the effects of armed conflicts, and diseases like Ebola.

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