Green Options » mountain gorilla

Endangered Gorillas Go Online: Befriend a Real Gorilla for $1

Jace Shoemaker-Galloway — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:09:26 +0000

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is launching a high-tech initiative in an effort to promote awareness, tourism, and gorilla conservation. The unique Friend a Gorilla project will launch on September 26th in Kampala. Gorilla enthusiasts will now be able to watch, track and befriend real live gorillas from the comfort of their own home. But wait - there’s more!

Gorillas in the Mist: Legendary Gorilla King Titus Dies

Jace Shoemaker-Galloway — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:58:59 +0000

One of the world’s most famous gorillas died recently in Rwanda at the age of 35. Titus, also known as the Gorilla King, starred in the popular Dr. Dian Fossey 1988 film “Gorillas in the Mist.” The silverback gorilla was also featured in a BBC documentary “Titus - The Gorilla King.”

Eco-Friendly Kids’ Books: Looking for Miza: The True Story of a Mountain Gorilla Family

Jennifer Lance — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:16:50 +0000

This fall, a heartwarming book titled Looking for Miza: The True Story of the Mountain Gorilla Family Who Rescued One of their Own by Juliana Hatkoff, Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr. Paula Kahumbu will be released to raise awareness of the endangered mountain gorillas. Last summer, ten of the world’s remaining 700 mountain gorillas were tragically massacred. This book was born out of the true story of Miza, who’s mother was killed, and a need to educate children, teachers, and parents about the mountain gorilla crisis.

The beautiful photographs by Perter Greste of Miza and her family help tell her incredible tale. Miza is a young gorilla living in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where just over half of the world’s mountain gorillas live. In June 2007, park rangers Innocent and Diddy discovered that Miza and her mother were missing from their family group. They immediately began looking for Miza, as her survival was at stake. What surprised the rangers was that Kibirizi, the family group’s silverback, also went looking for Miza and her mother.

As the head of the family group, Kibrizi was responsible for protecting the 31 gorillas in his family. Before he began his search for Miza, he took his family high into Mount Mikeno to hide in his absence. After several days, Kibrizi returned with Miza, but her mother was never found. Miza’s mother was one of the ten massacred mountain gorillas. Miza almost died without her mother’s care, but she was adopted by her big sister and learned to eat on her own.