What happens here, matters there.”ĭian Fossey dedicated her life to saving gorillas and in her last journal entry she wrote, “When you realize the value of life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate more on preservation of the future.” The Houston Zoo is honored to help continue her legacy today and secure a future for gorillas for generations to come. Houston Zoo staff, members, volunteers, and guests’ support fuels daily anti-poaching patrols, snare removal, and habitat protection to save gorillas in Africa. Celebrity actress, Sigourney Weaver, is the Honorary Chair of Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International and portrayed Dian Fossey in the 1988 film Gorillas in. Fossey described her work as ‘active conservation’ and that term suits us perfectly. Save Them.’ motto than gorillas,” said Ben Jones, the Zoo’s vice president of conservation and education. “No animal better exemplifies Houston Zoo’s ‘See Them. Photo by Johnny Than.įossey Fund special guests were thrilled seeing the gorillas in our care and they took particular pride in knowing Houston Zoo is helping save gorillas in the wild. Tara Stoinski speaking about the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. “It is the result of decades of on-the-ground protection by supportive partner organizations, like Houston Zoo, and hundreds of dedicated individuals, some of whom have lost their lives protecting gorillas.” Pictured here: Dr. Stoinski attributes this success to direct, daily protection. They are the only great apes with a growing population. But because of the work she started – and the Zoo helps continue today – the mountain gorilla population has grown to over 1,000 individuals. Poaching was so bad she feared they would be extinct by the year 2000. When Dian Fossey first arrived in Rwanda in 1967, an estimated 240 mountain gorillas remained.
“All of these Houston Zoo-supported activities are critical for gorilla conservation to succeed in the long term,” Stoinski explained. All sub-species of gorillas are endangered or critically endangered which means they could disappear in the next 20 years. The Zoo’s support helps protect forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo for critically endangered Grauer’s gorillas, expand food security programs for vulnerable people living near gorillas, and provide scholarships for conservation staff in Africa. Tara Stoinski thanked the Zoo for ensuring the survival of gorillas through extraordinary generosity and for the Zoo’s substantial ongoing commitment to save mountain gorillas. Fossey Fund president, CEO, and chief scientific officer, Dr. Houston Zoo president and CEO, Lee Ehmke welcomed staff and board members from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund to the Zoo recently. Zoo News Blog Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Partner Visits Houston Zooīy Ben Jones, Vice President of Conservation and Education Pictured here: Ben Jones, Dr.
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