After writing an article last week on if the UN was making a mistake in their plans for gorilla conservation, titled “Are Gorillas Doomed, Is the UN Making a Huge Mistake,” I got a lot of great feedback from readers. In the article I pointed out some of the things that we as individuals can do to help gorillas. Reader, naturalist, and artist Dave Derrick commented that there is an art for gorillas program on the Year of the Gorilla 2009 Website (http://www.yog2009.org) that he is a part of. Special thanks to Dave for pointing this out. You can check out Dave’s Artwork who’s proceeds go to gorilla conservation here. The art for gorilla program also has some fine photographic prints available for sale.

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For years and years, humans considered themselves the one and only makers of tools. Homo sapien literally means “wise man” because we were so intelligent that it was us humans, and us humans alone, who could even have the brain capacity to create a tool. It was considered the key feature of the genus Homo.

Well, that was until people actually decided to carefully look at other animal’s social behavior. It was not until the mid to late 1900’s that people realized “oops us humans are not the only ones to use tools.” Primatologists discovered chimpanzees creating tools for fishing termites out of their mounds, and stones for crushing nuts from their hard shell. Other researchers discovered that gorillas make beds from foliage, as well as sponges out of chewed up leaves.

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A report released Wednesday from the World Conservation Union (IUCN) predicts an 80% population decline of the most common type of gorilla, the Western Gorilla, from 1980 levels by 2046. The 2007 Red List of Threatened Species finds "commercial hunting and outbreaks of the Ebola virus have virtually extirpated gorillas from a great deal of otherwise intact forest" where they were previously thought to thrive.

"What’s immediately needed if we are to halt the decimation of the western gorilla is nothing short of a massive global response," said Richard Parnell, of the Wildlife Conservation Society. This author agrees. The following list is a response to the immediate need for action to prevent the extinction of gorillas and other threatened primate species—our closest relatives on Earth.

Here are seven unusual ways to prevent the extinction of gorillas. These approaches are also designed to introduce you to some of the complex causes and issues surrounding the threat that gorillas face from our species. This blog benefits from an exceptionally intelligent and motivated readership; if you have other ideas, please contribute them by posting comments below this article.

1. Don’t Buy Bushmeat!

If you know someone who lives in or travels to Africa, make sure he or she knows not to buy bushmeat. Bushmeat is a term for meat from any wild animal killed by hunters and sold as food. It’s popular in many African restaurants and markets. While not all bushmeat is illegally poached, buying bushmeat supports a demand for any and all forms of bushmeat. This drives poachers to shoot elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees and other primates, forest antelopes, and other animals in the hopes that they can sell the meat for commercial profit. As the IUCN’s report concludes, supporting the bushmeat trade makes a person directly responsible for the endangerment of Western Gorillas, among other primates.

Douglas Williamson, a wildlife expert at the U.N. further explains, "along with habitat loss, the commercial bushmeat trade is probably the biggest threat to wildlife in Africa."

2. Do Buy Other African Goods

The problem of poaching is enflamed by the desire of impoverished people to make money quickly. Let’s face it: entering a national park patrolled by armed guards to illegally poach and butcher endangered animals probably isn’t anybody’s ideal of making a living. Supporting businesses, local crafts, and economic development through commerce helps sustain local populations. This decreases the incentives to illegally hunt primates.

If you can find a good microinvesting organization that offers investment opportunities in African countries, please post it in the discussion below. Kiva.org is one valuable microinvesting organization, but selections for investment in Africa are slim to none. (Editor’s note: GO’s sister site Planetsave raises funds for Kiva.org.)

"We need money," says Democratic Republic of the Congo environment minister Henri Dojombo. "It is poverty in the first place that leads to poaching."

3. Have a ‘Save Gorillas’ Fundraiser Movie Night

Gather friends, family, neighbors, and community members in a park or at your home for a showing of your favorite gorilla movie. Watch Mountain Gorilla, Gorillas In The Mist, or even King Kong. Have everyone there donate $10+ (the price of going to the movies), and donate the pooled money to a conservation organization that works to protect gorillas. For example, you could adopt a gorilla with the World Wildlife Fund, the African Wildlife Fund, or the Diane Fossey Fund.

Come up with other fun ways to raise money to adopt a gorilla. You can do it with your school classroom, as a gift for someone, or even on your own, or as a gift to yourself.

4. Volunteer in Africa

Yup, that’s right. Travelers in Africa rarely have anything but praise for the amazing people they meet and the incredible land they come to understand better. It’s literally the chance of a lifetime, and most people don’t realize how easy it is.

To volunteer in ways that will benefit Western Gorillas, you’ll want to be in Angola, Cameroon, The Central African Republic, The Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, or Nigeria.

Look for programs and opportunities online, including at the following websites:

• Volunteer Abroad
• The Peace Corps
• World Volunteer Web: Countries
• Universal Giving: International Volunteer Opportunities
• Volunteer for Prosperity: Africa

You can also try contacting other organizations, like the Cameroon Environmental Watch (to translate emails into or from French, a good online resource is Altavista’s Babelfish), to learn how you can help.

5. Donate to Heifer International

Send cows to help gorillas? More or less… the folks at Heifer International have programs in Cameroon, which is home to the Western Gorilla. Donations help the organization train local farmers in better, more sustainable farming methods. The domestic animals they provide empower local people with a source of income and food, like milk and eggs. For gorilla populations to be saved from the relentless assaults from illegal hunting, local human populations must be given a viable method of survival that allows them to live without depending on poaching as a source of income. Donating to Heifer International helps to accomplish this feat. You can read more on their website.

It’s true that encroaching farmland also threatens to gorilla populations through deforestation and habitat destruction. However, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, "the most immediate threat to western gorillas is not habitat destruction as previously believed, but poaching and lack of law enforcement." This assertion is echoed in Wednesday’s IUCN report. Therefore, at least at the moment, helping local people with any form of industry which stems the perceived need to massacre gorillas for income is an important step in the race to prevent the extinction of gorillas.

6. Push Timber Companies to Follow the Law

The bushmeat trade is made possible in part by a lack of oversight and enforcement of the law in the timber industry. European and African loggers penetrate Central African forests, which are home to the remaining gorilla populations. The logging industry in Africa still lacks regulation from the companies who purchase the lumber. Loggers therefore are often tempted to make extra money by poaching adult gorillas and chimpanzees to sell on the commercial bushmeat market, and by capturing the young for sale as exotic pets.

European timber companies, like Belgian Decolvenaere, buy tropical lumber from African forests. Many African timber companies are members of the InterAfrican Forest Industries Association (IFIA), as well as the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). While both of these organizations recognize the severity of the bushmeat problem and its ties to logging, they need average citizens to contact them by the thousands to encourage greater regulation and monitoring of loggers. Always be polite and courteous when contacting companies and organizations with important issues such as these.

You can contact the Japan-based ITTO by email at itto@itto.or.jp, by phone at 81-45-223-1110, by fax at +81-45-223-1111, or by mail at

International Tropical Timber Organization
International Organizations Center, 5th Floor
Pacifico-Yokohama 1-1-1, Minato-Mirai,
Nishi-ku, Yokohama, 220-0012 Japan

You can contact the France-based IFIA by email at ifia@wanadoo.fr, by phone at 33 1 43 42 42 00, by fax at 33 1 43 42 55 22, or by mail at

InterAfrican Forest Industries Association (IFIA)
6, avenue de Saint Mandé
75012 Paris, France

You can contact Decolvenaere logging company through their web site’s contact form. According to Greenpeace, "despite several requests, the Belgian importer Decolvenaere has shown no interest at all to purchase FSC-certified timber." You can contact them and ask them to adhere to Forest Steward Council (FSC) guidelines on sustainable forestry. Also, ask that they better monitor logging operations to ensure that loggers do not poach, and that they not purchase lumber from third parties whose practices they cannot vouch for.

7. Spread the Word!

Make sure to tell a friend—or 500!—about the need to take immediate action to protect gorillas from impending extinction. Have them contribute ideas about ways to take action, raise funds together to donate to conservation organizations that work to protect gorillas, or simply spread information about gorillas, their lifestyles, their habitat, and their current plight for survival.

References on Bushmeat:

Bushmeat Crisis Task Force | bushmeat.org

The Bushmeat Project | bushmeat.net

Bushmeat–A Resource at Risk | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Bushmeat | The Humane Society of the United States

The Growing Problem of Bushmeat Consumption | Jeffry M. Burnam, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Environment; Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs

‘Save Our Apes’ DRC Funding Plea | Africa from Allbusiness.com

References on African Logging:

Homepage | International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)

English Homepage | InterAfrican Forest Industries Association (IFIA)

Africa Resources | Greenpeace

Company Homepage | Decolvenaere

What is Certification? | The Forest Stewardship Council (FSA)

References on Gorillas:

Homepage | The World Conservation Union (IUCN)

2007 Redlist of Threatened Species | IUCN

Gorillas Now ‘Critically Endangered’ | Discovery Channel News

Want to Save Gorillas? Enforce Laws | Wildlife Conservation Society

Resources on Volunteering and Donating:

Home | Volunteer Abroad

Home | Peace Corps

Country List | World Volunteer Web

Find A Vounteer Opportunity | International Volunteer Opportunities

Global Map, Africa | Volunteers For Prosperity

Home | Heifer International

Home | Kiva.org

Gorillas | World Wildlife Fund

Adopt A Gorilla | African Wildlife Society

Adopt A Gorilla… Save A Species | The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International

Photo Source:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/arro08/131759180/

Monday August 10th, 2009 From 7:00 - 8:15 pm ; Marshall, Michigan, USA

the Marshall District Library will host a talk by David Begg about gorillas and the Limbe Wildlife Centre in Cameroon. Door Prize: Family Pass to Binder Park Zoo. This event is FREE. Contact Marshall District Library (269) 781-7821

Tuesday August 11th, 2009; Marshall, Michigan, USA

The Marshall District Library will host a walk-in program for kids. Activities include making “Save Gorillas” posters. Prizes will be awarded for best posters within age groups. 10 AM - 2 PM, FREE. Contact Marshall District Library (269) 781-7821 www.unitedinservice.info

Tuesday August 11th, 2009 At 6:30 pm; Marshall, MI

the Marshall United Methodist Church will host the screening of “GORILLAS IN THE MIST”. The film will play in their Theater Room. Parental Discretion Advised - this is not a film for younger children. Running time just over 2 hours. Reserved seating. FREE! Contact Marshall United Methodist Church to reserve your seat (269) 781-5107

Friday August 14th, 2009 from 7pm to 10pm; North Marshall, MI

join the Gorilla Daze Team has organized a special karaoke event, the “SING FOR GORILLAS” Fund Raiser. Come for an evening of family oriented fun. Sing, listen, or do both as we eat ice cream and enjoy a few surprises. Dennis Gorsline will be the Master of Ceremony. Jim Oliver will be our Special Guest. One lucky karaoke singer will be selected to sing back-up on Mr. Oliver’s music video in our own gorilla-style American Idol!  There is a Door Prize of two free tickets to the Detroit Zoo. We will also have a great Silent Auction, including a Website designed and set up by Skategarden Web Design, a $100 Gift Certificate from Artistic Expressions of Battle Creek, a one hour Massage from Mary Ann Churchill of Z’s Salon, and a Gift Basket from Maplewood of Marshall. We’ll also have cool gorilla stuff!  100% of all proceeds will be used to help save gorillas and their habitat. This event is free and open to the public, and will be held at the Marshall United Methodist Church 14711 Old US 27 North Marshall, MI. For more detail visit www.unitedinservice.info or call (269) 781-9627. The purpose of Gorilla Daze is to raise awareness of the threat of extinction of gorillas. The Sing for Gorillas event hopes to raise money to support non-profit organizations working to protect gorillas and their habitats.

Sunday August 16th 2009; Marshall, Michigan, USA

Two lucky winners will be driven to the Detroit Zoo to see live gorillas! To find out where and when, you can register to win two FREE tickets to the Detroit Zoo. Read the event listing for August 14th. Winner may opt to provide their own transportation and choose an alternate date.

Saturday August 29th, 2009 10 am; Los Angeles, CA

“The New Gorillas: The state of gorilla biology and conservation in 2009”  by Dr. Craig Stanford (Professor, Department of Anthropology and Biological Sciences, University of Southern California; Co-Director, USC Jane Goodall Research Center)  Date: August 29, 2009 10 am  Location: Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Witherbee Auditorium; 5333 Zoo Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90027-1498 Contact: Please RSVP to Laurel Colton, Tel. 323-256-8406 Comments: $10 general public (plus Zoo ticket); $10 L.A. Zoo members. Light refreshments will be served. Free parking.

Saturday August 29, 2009, 12:30 PM – 4:00 PM and Sunday August 30, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM; Los Angeles, CA

Go Gorilla! Weekend  Find out more about gorillas when you visit the L.A. Zoo’s Campo Gorilla Reserve. See examples of current conservation projects that are helping to save endangered gorillas. Hear docent and enrichment talks about the Zoo’s gorilla family and bachelor groups. Play games that teach about gorillas, threats to their survival, and what we can do to help save them. Become a Junior Gorilla Researcher and learn how data collected during field studies helps us discover more about gorilla populations and behavior. Visit the L.A. Zoo for this special weekend and Go Gorilla!  Date: Saturday-Sunday, August 29-30, 2009  Time: August 29, 12:30 PM – 4:00 PM and August 30, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM  Location: Gorilla Campo Reserve, Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens; 5333 Zoo Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90027-1498. Tel: 323-644-4702.  Comments: This event directly follows Dr. Craig Stanford’s gorilla lecture (at 10:30 AM in the Zoo’s Witherbee Auditorium). Go Gorilla! Weekend is free with L.A. Zoo admission.

Friday September 25th, 2009 Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine Street Cincinnati, USA “Through the Congo” Thematic day

Saturday, October 10th 2009; Los Angeles, CA

Lecture by YoG Ambassador Ian Redmond & Auction  It’s Our Nature lecture series presents “Save the Gorillas to Save the World” — Lecture by Ian Redmond, OBE. A reception and auction fundraiser at the L.A. Zoo directly follows the talk. This event will benefit the Year of the Gorilla conservation projects through the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association. Ticket prices to be announced. DATE: Saturday, October 10, 2009 TIME: 10:30 AM LOCATION: Witherbee Auditorium, Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, 5333 Zoo Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027-1498 CONTACT: Please reserve seats 323-644-4702.

Thursday October 29th, 2009; Bristol, UK

How can we save primates from extinction? Bristol (UK) Conservation and Science Foundation 2nd annual symposium –  Following the 2008 symposium on evidence-based conservation, the Bristol Conservation and Science Foundation has invited primatologists from the field and zoo sector to discuss success stories and challenges in primate conservation programmes. The meeting aims to bring together evidence on how well we are doing to date in saving primates from extinction, and to suggest ways forward to ensure the survival of our closest relatives beyond the 21st century. Special emphasis will be given to the role of zoos in primate conservation.  Invited speakers include: Prof. John F. Oates Ian Redmond OBE, Year of the Gorilla Ambassador Dr Anthony Rylands Dr Anna Nekaris Dr Jean-Marc Lernould  The one-day symposium will be held in the Clifton Pavilion at Bristol Zoo Gardens, starting at 10.00 am and finishing at 5.30 pm. Registration fees are £75 per person and include a buffet-style lunch as well as coffee/tea breaks between the sessions and entry to Bristol Zoo Gardens. A list of accommodation in Bristol is available on request.  To register, to submit a poster abstract or to find out more, please go to http://www.bristolzoo.org.uk/about/conservation/symposium2009.

Saturday October 31st, 2009; Crawley, UK

Gearing Up 4 Gorillas presents the 2009 ‘Gorilla Gala’ To be held at the Arora International Hotel, Crawley, UK  G4G looks forward to welcoming you to a colourful Congolese style evening of music and dance. Kasai Masai, an exceptional band whose rhythmic, lively music is the very essence of Congolese culture, will perform. To complete the evening, the one and only Mungo Jerry will perform memorable hits to ensure no-one is left seated before a finale to remember……!  As Ambassador for the ‘Year of the Gorilla 2009’ and with his long experience of great ape conservation and intimate knowledge of the world of the mountain gorilla, G4G is honoured to have Ian Redmond OBE presenting the after dinner speech.  A variety of raffle prizes and auction items will delight you as ‘Gearing Up 4 Gorillas’ (G4G) raises awareness and funds to support mountain gorilla protection in Virunga National Park, eastern DR Congo. Every individual guest will automatically become a ‘Camp Bukima Custodian’ for 2010, entitling them to a certificate, photographs of the rangers they will be supporting and four editions of our G-Bulletin.  View the invitation here (Pdf)  If you feel you could offer an auction item or for other questions/input, please call Linda Nunn on (+44) 01725 553149 / 07801 531205

Wednesday December 2nd, 2009; London, UK

Royal Geographical Society Event, Gorillas: The Gentle Giants and Their Role in Our World 7pm  Travel Africa Magazine in association with Evans Mitchell Books and Wild Frontiers are hosting a lecture at the Royal Geographic Society in London. Letitia Farris Toussaint, author of Gorillas: The Gentle Giants, and photographer Martin Harvey will be joined by Ian Redmond OBE. Gentle Giants: an overview by Letitia Farris Toussaint Having studied primate behaviour for many years author Letitia Farris Toussaint provides an insight into the life, habits and fight for survival of these magnificent creatures.  Gorillas: Eye to Eye by Martin Harvey Award winning photographer Martin Harvey has spent over 15 years photographing wildlife. As co-author of Gorillas: The Gentle Giants, he will share his experiences, both hair raising and hilarious, of photographing them.  Break  Save the Gorillas to Save the World by Ian Redmond OBE As a tropical field biologist and conservationist, Ian Redmond OBE is renowned for his work with gorillas. The severe threat faced by these amazing animals is being further highlighted this year, with the UN declaring 2009 The Year of The Gorilla. As one of the Ambassadors for Year of the Gorilla 2009, Ian will highlight the importance of gorillas in the overall eco-system, and the importance of their survival for climate stability.  9pm finish  For more info and to buy tickets for the event, go to www.eventelephant.com/gorillas

-Source: www.yog2009.com

-Image Credit: tiswango on Flickr