Skating Gorillas Launch UN Year of the Gorilla to Highlight Species on the Brink of Extinction

International Wildlife Charity, Born Free Foundation, will take part in the UN ‘Gorillas on Thin Ice’ event this Thursday to help raise essential awareness and vitally needed funds for the world’s endangered gorillas.

As part of the United Nations International Year of the Gorilla (YoG), a troupe of skaters dressed as the world’s largest ape took to the ice at London’s Natural History Museum on 15 January from 10am to 12pm.

Born Free Foundation representatives, together with conservationists and acclaimed TV investigative reporter, Donal Macintyre, currently competing in the ITV 1 extravaganza ‘Dancing on Ice’®, took part in this two-hour event to draw attention to the peril faced by these majestic animals.  Teams of young skater volunteers from London rinks also took part on behalf of their close cousins, the gorillas.

Despite being one of the most iconic species in the world, gorillas are seriously threatened throughout their natural range. Human actions are the main cause, especially deforestation and poaching. In some areas, epidemics of the lethal hemorrhagic fever Ebola, are accelerating population decline. Born Free supports a range of gorilla conservation projects, and is proud to add its voice to the Year of the Gorilla partnership, uniting conservation organisations around the world in a global effort to prevent the extinction of these unique creatures.

Born Free’s Chief Executive, Will Travers, says “Imagine a world without wild gorillas. The Western, the Eastern Lowland and Mountain gorilla, gone, lost in the mist because of us. One of Born Free’s first ever supporters was the inspirational Dian Fossey. What would she think of us if her efforts and the sacrifices made by so many people to protect gorillas were all for nothing? The shame would be too great to bear. This is the Year of the Gorilla and what better time to join with the UN, Born Free and conservationists worldwide to say enough and no more. It’s time for the killing, the trading, the habitat loss and the poaching to stop. This is the Planet of the Apes – let’s make sure it stays that way and that these magnificent creatures survive in the wild, where they belong!” 

It was estimated in a 1995 survey that 17,000 (+/-8,000) Eastern Lowland Gorilla existed in the forests of Democratic Republic of Congo. War and widespread civil unrest prevented further surveys and many now believe that fewer than 5,000 survive.

Born Free Celebrity Patron and supermodel, Rachel Hunter, is passionate about the plight of wild gorillas, "Adult gorillas being poached for their meat - baby gorillas stolen for the pet trade.  I have spent time in West Africa seeing this for myself.  I am horrified.  I am desperate.  But I am determined to do something about it and I’m in it for the ‘long-haul’.  Please help Born Free and help the gorillas. Thank you."

The YoG was formally launched by His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco at an international wildlife conference in Rome a few weeks ago. In June 2006, H.S.H. the Prince, set up the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, dedicated to environmental protection and promoting the sustainable and equitable management of natural resources in three main areas: climate change, biodiversity and water.  His Serene Highness, Prince Albert II said:" It is in the interest of the international community and our honourable task to save these unique natural resources and the World Heritage Sites where they live."

The skate-off in London marked the first awareness-building and fund-raising event in a new 12 month-long campaign and marked the launch of an appeal to the corporate sector to get involved and sponsor gorilla projects in the field in the ten African countries which are their range states.

Born Free has supported efforts to conserve gorillas for many years, as well as funding facilities that care for confiscated individuals rescued from illegal trade. The Foundation has been involved in international policy work as well as field projects related to all of the four gorilla sub-species. A founding partner in the UNEP / UNESCO Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP – one of the organisations behind the YoG) Born Free has provided the core Technical Support Team for GRASP since its inception in 2001. We are a long-standing supporter of the Kahuzi Biega National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is home to many of the last endangered Eastern Lowland gorillas as well as assisting local groups working with the communities around the park to promote environmental responsibility. With the generous assistance of supermodel Rachel Hunter, we have provided significant funding to the Limbe Wildlife Centre in Cameroon, which cares for rescued gorillas and other primates. Last year, through the Primate Society of Great Britain, we funded a study into the distribution of the Cross River Gorilla in Cameroon to enhance conservation action for this, the most endangered sub-species. We also raised funds, through a national newspaper, to support conservation work in and around the Virunga National Park to protect the Mountain gorillas in this area.

Born Free consultant Ian Redmond OBE, a tropical field biologist and conservationist renowned for his work with great apes and elephants, has been appointed Ambassador for the UN Year of the Gorilla.   He commented, “Gorillas are amazing, but this is about much more than saving awesome apes. They may be on thin ice metaphorically, but the conservation of gorillas can help slow the process global warming that really is thinning polar ice and glaciers worldwide.  How?  Because gorillas are keystone species in the Congo Basin forests.  The health of the planet depends on the three great tropical forests of Amazonia, Congo and SE Asia.  The health of those forests depends on the survival of gorillas and other primates who disperse seeds for the next generation of trees.  This is why the Year of the Gorilla is so timely, and it highlights the need for forests to be included in the new Climate Agreement that follows the Kyoto Protocol”.

You can support the protection of gorillas in Kahuzi Biega National Park in DRC by adopting Mugaruka and Chimanuka.