Gorilla Protection

Category: Videos, Year of the Gorilla | Date: Oct 19 2009 | By: Daniel

Hi there,

Have a look at this YoG song by US musician James Leo Oliver at the United Methodist Church’s Sing for Gorilla fundraiser, which took place in Marshall, Michigan, on August 14th. Bamm Bamm recordings helped with the recording, David Begg (who also was main organizer of the UMC’s series of YoG events this summer) provided video material and Glen Cole helped with the video production. Thanks, guys!

Tags: fun, music, Year of the Gorilla

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Category: Outreach & Awareness, Press, Threats, Videos, Year of the Gorilla | Date: Oct 08 2009 | By: Daniel

Ian Redmond, a tropical field biologist and conservationist, spoke about the dangers of decreasing ape populations at a presentation hosted by the Department of Anthropology on Thursday. Several hundred students attended to hear Redmond speak about the importance of ape conservation and their impact on the world. Redmond’s presentation was titled, “Save the Gorillas to Save the World.”

Redmond detailed the impact of gorillas, both currently and if they become extinct, on the world. According to Redmond, by 2030, only 10 percent of great ape habitats will remain free of the impacts of human development in Africa. Only 1 percent of orangutans will avoid the same impacts in Southeast Asia. Gorilla populations have had some recovery successes, but their numbers continue to decrease.

Redmond explained that gorillas are essential to the survival of ecosystems in their home countries, as they fertilize and disperse seeds through their dung, which regenerates the forests.

Tags: climate change, gorillas, Ian Redmond, outreach, Year of the Gorilla

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Category: DRC, Eastern Lowland Gorilla, Gorilla Range States, Grauer's Gorillas, Political situation, Videos, Year of the Gorilla, bushmeat | Date: Oct 02 2009 | By: Daniel

Here’s another of Ian Redmond’s YoG interviews, this time with John Kahekwa at the Kahuzi Biega National Park. The park has lost most of its gorillas and elephants to poaching related to coltan mining and the war which started in 1994, and the absence of their ‘gardening’ activities has led to profound changes in vegetation cover and other ecosystem features.

Go to www.yog2009.org to find out more about the campaign and how to support.

Tags: Elephants, gorillas, kahuzi-biega, mining, poaching, vegetation cover, war, Year of the Gorilla

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Category: DRC, Eastern Lowland Gorilla, Gorilla Range States, Gorilla tourism, Outreach & Awareness, Patrols, Political situation, Rangers, Threats, Videos, Year of the Gorilla, bushmeat, militias | Date: Oct 01 2009 | By: Daniel

Ian is back in the UK, catching up with himself and preparing for his next journey, this time to the concrete jungles of LA, San Diego etc. to fundraise for YoG through a lecture tour.

As the regular reader of this blog will remember, Ian did numerous video interviews and collected other video material. Unfortunately, the files were too large to upload as he went, but we are now receiving them.

One of Ian’s first visits in the Dem. Rep. of Congo was to the Kahuzi Biega National Park, where he interviewed Head Ranger Radar Nishuli on the ever-volatile situation there and on what he thinks of the YoG. Enjoy!

Tags: conservation, DRC, gorillas, Ian Redmond, Kahuzi Biega National Park, range states, Rangers, Year of the Gorilla

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Category: Press, Successes, Threats, Videos, Western Lowland Gorilla, Year of the Gorilla, Your Donations, law enforcement | Date: Jul 20 2009 | By: Daniel

For the first time in Republic of Congo, a chimpanzee dealer was arrested and finally prosecuted. He was judged guilty and was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 1,100,000 CFA (1,679 Euro). This is the result of the Project PALF (Project to Apply the Fauna Law or Projet d’Appui à l’Application de la Loi Faunique), managed by The Aspinall Foundation and WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society). This project also benefits gorillas and you can donate for it!

Here you can watch PALF footage on Youtube.

Or you can watch the clips right here:

Tags: bushmeat, fundraising, law enforcement, poaching, Threats, Western Lowland Gorilla, Year of the Gorilla

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Category: Community, Humanitarian Situation, Political situation, Press, Successes, Threats, Videos, Year of the Gorilla | Date: Jun 25 2009 | By: Daniel

World renowned conservationist George Schaller, one of the first to look at gorillas from a modern, enlightened perspective, gives a recount of his experiences and an outlook on the future and obstacles of gorilla conservation. A must-see!

There is also a higher quality version on Youtube, click here.

YoG Patron Dr. Jane Goodall (DBE) kindly supplied us with this video message of support to be shown at the Frankfurt Gorilla Symposium in Frankfurt, Germany, which took place from 9-11 June. We thank her for lending her voice to this main YoG event, whose attendees collectively produced a ‘Frankfurt Gorilla Declaration’, find out more here.

And here’s another message Jane Goodall recently shot in Africa (link to Vimeo).

Tags: awareness, George Schaller, Jane Goodall, Year of the Gorilla

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