The Gorilla Organization

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The Gorilla Organization is a UK-based charity, working in Africa for the conservation and protection of endangered mountain gorillas.

Contents

Background

In 1978, primatologist and conservationist Dian Fossey founded The Digit Fund to finance anti-poaching patrols. It was named in memory of Fossey's favourite gorilla, Digit. [1] [2]

Amid complex disputes about the best use of funds (Fossey felt international organizations' donations were mistakenly aimed at promoting tourism and often ended up with corrupt park officials), she lost control of British money to the Fauna Preservation Society's "Mountain Gorilla Fund", [2] although she managed to keep control of the Digit Fund in the US.

After she was murdered, the Digit Fund was renamed the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and remained headquartered in the UK [3] until the summer of 2006, when the UK and US branches split due to differences in the ways charities operate in the two countries. The UK organization was briefly renamed the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Europe [4] then assumed its current name of The Gorilla Organization, [5] (gorillas.org) while the US side became the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (gorillafund.org).

Activities

Initially, Fossey financed patrols to destroy poachers' traps. Now, the organization's activities are more widespread and holistic, covering all three countries bordering the Virunga Mountains (Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC). They include reforestation, economic development, organic farming, eco-guards (rangers), research, community education projects [6] and collaboration with Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka's Conservation Through Public Health and its "Gorilla Conservation Coffee" scheme [7] (Dr Gladys is a Gorilla Organization trustee, alongside Dian Fossey's former research assistant Ian Redmond OBE). In addition to public fundraising via events such as the Great Gorilla Run [8] and London Marathon (where "Mr Gorilla" Tom Harrison crawled the whole route, taking a week but raising £50,000), [9] [10] it has managed to attract corporate sponsorship from companies such as Gorilla Glue, [11] Gorilla Spirits, [12] and That Gorilla Brand. [13] It also has numerous high-profile patrons, including Baroness Chalker of Wallasey, Gordon Buchanan, Richard Dawkins, Leonardo DiCaprio, Daryl Hannah, Nathan Myhrvold and Stanley Johnson.

References

  1. ↑ Fossey, Dian (1983). Gorillas in the Mist.
  2. 1 2 Mowat, Farley (1987). Woman In the Mists . New York: Warner Books. pp. 165–172. ISBN   0-446-51360-1.
  3. ↑ "Contact". The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. Archived from the original on 19 June 2006. Retrieved 1 January 2022. The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund works internationally [...] Contact us [...] at The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, 110 Gloucester Avenue, London
  4. ↑ "Greatest ape: The battle to save the mountain gorilla". The Independent. 5 December 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2022. ... one of the bodies that has grown directly out of Dian Fossey's legacy: the Gorilla Organization (GO), which was formerly the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Europe. Based in London ...
  5. ↑ "THE GORILLA ORGANIZATION - Charity 1117131". register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2022. INCORPORATED 3 NOVEMBER 2006
  6. ↑ "Projects - The Gorilla Organization". gorillas.org. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  7. ↑ "Conservationist". Gorilla Conservation Coffee. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  8. ↑ Chandler, Mark (17 September 2016). "Hundreds of gorilla costume runners race through London". The Standard. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  9. ↑ "'Gorilla man' still crawling London Marathon". BBC News. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  10. ↑ "Meet the man who crawled 26.2 miles in a gorilla suit". ESPN.com. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  11. ↑ "Supporting the Gorilla Organization | Gorilla Glue". Gorilla Glue UK. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  12. ↑ "Our Story – Gorilla Spirits" . Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  13. ↑ "About The Gorilla Organization". That Gorilla Brand. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
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