With the successful transfer of three beautiful young mountain Gorillas from the Port Lympne Wild animal Park in Kent, England to their new half way home, an African nature reserve in Gabon thanks to the excellent work of the Gorilla charity the Aspinall Foundation.

With mountain Gorillas approaching the likelihood of extinction with issues such as hunting, destruction of habitat, civil fighting, and disease, conservationists are thrilled that the three gorillas are seeming well gaining in weight as they eat the now surrounding forest.

The population of Western gorillas continues on being wiped out in their natural habitat – gorillas are on the ‘extremely endangered list’ and will no longer be found on the planet by 2020 if the amount of them continue to reduce at the rate they are at present.

Their kin situated in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Rwanda and Uganda the mountain Gorillas are also afflicted by the effects of civilisations expansion and have seen their numbers falling hugely over the years reaching desperately small numbers over the past few years.

Mountain Gorillas unlike their more robust cousins the Chimpanzees do not cope with changes to their habitat, with stress knocking them back in a lethal way. Stressed Gorillas have a tendency to be depressed, leaving them very susceptible to illness which they seldom get better from. Our sensitive large cousins need our effort to ensure they do not just disappear into extinction through our lethargy.

The Young Gorillas from Kent are now housed in small housing in a safe area of the forest where they are taken about their protected area each day to help them develop in confidence and get used to helping themselves (when I use enclosure I mean a huge area of habitat that they become accustomed to). Eventually the young Gorillas will force their way out of the enclosure and when they are entirely ready released into the wild.

The major thing just as with humans, is building the self belief within these Gorillas to ensure that they are entirely and completely at peace within the wilderness so that they understand how to look after themselves without requiring the help of humans to keep them safe. Only at that point are you truly able to say that these animals are ready to become re-integrated and this is the fantastic job that the Aspinall Foundation carry out.

The orphan Gorillas that are helped by the charity and its partners, are put in with the other Gorillas boosting the quantity of Gorillas able to be raised and finally released by this fantastic charity. There are many Businesses that are promoting the sanctuaries that wild Gorillas and Mountain Gorillas are situated providing visitors Gorilla Trekking or Mountain Gorilla Tracking which let the individuals to be as wrapped up in the habitat as they like. This helps bring awareness of these fantastically beautiful cousins of man’s plight and help ensure that the safe areas have other forms of funding.

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