People & Media...

Now I know everyone has different opinions about the new trend of stars taking up and becoming spokespeople for their one progressive cause, but I was channel surfing last night and came across Natalie Portman’s gorilla documentary, “Saving a Species: Gorillas on the Brink,” and, I must say, I really enjoyed it. She, along with her mother and animal expert Jack Hanna, traveled to Congo’s Virunga National Park to learn about the plight of the gravely endangered Mountain Gorilla.

Celebrity influence is probably a big part of the reason why trends show that environmental awareness is now, well, trendy. I saw a recent article about the obsession with Whole Food’s newly released reusable bags. The day they came out, in the uppity town of Montclair, New Jersey, there was a line about 60 people long. When the reporter asked a woman why she was there, she responded, “It’s about status.” There you have it, folks.

I digress. Needless to say, there are only 700 Mountain Gorillas left in the entire world, all settled right around the borders of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. During the film, Jack Hanna mentioned that the gorilla effort was one of the biggest conservation efforts in the world right now.

The primary threat to these gorillas is forest clearance and degradation. Other causes, however, are human induced, due to poaching and the ongoing war in The Congo. Rebel presence is growing heavy, and it has been really difficult to monitor the gorillas. There are now ‘no-go zones’ where park rangers are not even allowed to enter. They hope that a cease fire will enter soon, so that they can venture further into the forest to see if there is more serious damage.

Essentially, gorillas get confused and trapped in the crossfire. Oftentimes, they are not the primary targets, but they are subject to the conflict around them. There have, however, been documented cases of gorillas killed, execution style.

In the documentary, Natalie attends a gorilla naming ceremony held in Rwanda in July. She named her gorilla Ahazaza, which means “Future” in the native Rwandan language.

In the meantime, visitors pay up to $500 to gain access to the Virunga National Park, and the nation earned $36 million from tourism in 2006. The Government aims to raise $100 million per year from gorilla tourism by 2010. This money could aid in the protection and care of the gorillas that come into harm, but charities that work together to fund round-the-clock patrols by park rangers desperately need more funding to carry on.

This is where YOU come in! If you want to show your support to Gorilla conservation efforts or see these amazing animals in their natural habitat yourself, then make a donation here: donations, adopt a gorilla here: adopt a gorilla, or go on your very own gorilla watching safari, like Natalie herself: GorillaSafari.