Sir David Attenborough Launches Campaign to Save Mountain Gorillas

Sir David Attenborough, in collaboration with Fauna and Flora International, has just launched a new crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.com to save the mountain gorilla. The 1,001 mountain gorilla appeal, which ends on Dec. 11, hopes to raise $175,670 – $1,597 for every year of FFI’s existence.

Speaking about his reasons for launching this campaign, Attenborough says, “I first went to film mountain gorillas in Rwanda in 1978 for the BBC’s Life on Earth television series. Spending time with these gentle creatures in their natural habitat was a profoundly moving experience. It was abundantly clear, however, that a lethal cocktail of threats including poaching, human encroachment and habitat loss was driving these magnificent, gentle creatures to the very brink of extinction.”

“I was so deeply concerned by the plight of the mountain gorillas that I came to Fauna and Flora International (FFI) for urgent discussions about how we could prevent them from disappearing forever.”

This campaign, which has raised more than $10,808 to date, sees Attenborough join philanthropists such as Ted Turner, who last year donated $1 million to help conserve the gorilla population of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

FFI have listed three main goals that they hope will be achieved through the 1,001 campaign:

1. Ensure that the gorilla’s habitat is protected, so that they have a place they can thrive;
2. Support the development of responsible, sustainable tourism so that local communities directly benefit from the income that comes from responsible gorilla tourism; and
3. Ensure that this work is supported by rigorous scientific research and an enabling policy environment.

Take note, Green Monsters: this is a campaign to get behind!