Just Chillin'
Western lowland gorillas come from central West Africa living in dense forests and swamps of Gabon, Cameroon, Congo and Equatorial Guinea. There are now only 100,000 Western lowland gorillas, 90% less than 10 years ago, due to poaching for “bush meat”.
Port Lympne has 3 groups of Western lowland gorillas. The Palace of the Apes houses a family group comprised of a silverback, adult females and young males. They also have a group of bachelor males living in 2 separate areas away from the family group. This guy is one of those.
Like his father before him, Damien Aspinlall is something of a controversial figure. His declared belief is that all animals, wherever possible, deserve a chance at life in the wild, and it’s hard to argue with that although he could express his belief rather more diplomatically at times. Anyway, working with the Aspinall Foundation, Howletts and Port Lympne Wildlife Parks have between them pioneered the release of captive born gorillas into the wild. Baby gorillas orphaned by the bush meat trade in these countries have been raised by the Aspinall Foundation and taught how to survive in the wild. These orphans, and the captive born gorillas, are released into reserves covering over a million acres of Congo and Gabon which the Aspinall Foundation helps protect and manage. Aspinal claims that his project has given a safe home to over 50 gorillas, which have had more than 30 babies, and to all the other wildlife living alongside them. He has, of course, also suffered failures.
Not all conservationists agree with Aspinall’s policy of releasing captive born animals into the wild. Also his stewardship of the Aspinall Foundation has been under investigation. I’ll leave it at that.
Just Chillin'
Western lowland gorillas come from central West Africa living in dense forests and swamps of Gabon, Cameroon, Congo and Equatorial Guinea. There are now only 100,000 Western lowland gorillas, 90% less than 10 years ago, due to poaching for “bush meat”.
Port Lympne has 3 groups of Western lowland gorillas. The Palace of the Apes houses a family group comprised of a silverback, adult females and young males. They also have a group of bachelor males living in 2 separate areas away from the family group. This guy is one of those.
Like his father before him, Damien Aspinlall is something of a controversial figure. His declared belief is that all animals, wherever possible, deserve a chance at life in the wild, and it’s hard to argue with that although he could express his belief rather more diplomatically at times. Anyway, working with the Aspinall Foundation, Howletts and Port Lympne Wildlife Parks have between them pioneered the release of captive born gorillas into the wild. Baby gorillas orphaned by the bush meat trade in these countries have been raised by the Aspinall Foundation and taught how to survive in the wild. These orphans, and the captive born gorillas, are released into reserves covering over a million acres of Congo and Gabon which the Aspinall Foundation helps protect and manage. Aspinal claims that his project has given a safe home to over 50 gorillas, which have had more than 30 babies, and to all the other wildlife living alongside them. He has, of course, also suffered failures.
Not all conservationists agree with Aspinall’s policy of releasing captive born animals into the wild. Also his stewardship of the Aspinall Foundation has been under investigation. I’ll leave it at that.