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Please Invite as many great photos as you can find in your travel around flickr, by copying the code in the post above. It should look like this:
 Honoring Gorillas
War has endangered the Mountain Gorillas of Virunga National park. Maybe by honoring gorillas through posts of their amazing faces we hold them in our hearts .... Honoring Gorillas
Originally posted 70 months ago.
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yeimaya edited this topic 70 months ago.
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This is from Eric..eclectic echoes who hasn't been on flickr for a while but was one of the founding fathers of Voices... I know he would enter it gladly if he were to check in.
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Thanks gale for inviting this collage to this thread. Gorillas hold a special place in my heart and I created this collage in honor of them and to be a voice for them in there time of need by letting people know about different ways of supporting them.
Here is a list of organizations that help Gorillas:
Adopt A Gorilla at a Local Zoo or Support Your Local Zoo
Support the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International
Buy Gorilla Fund Coffee
Support the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Support the Gorilla Organization
Recycle Old Cell Phones to Help Save A Gorillas Life
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Originally posted 70 months ago.
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rbleib edited this topic 70 months ago.
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Please don't hurt my family..........
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These are so touching thanks!
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Susan your photos are fantastic ! Our zoo has gorilla exhibit indoors only and hard to capture. I dont like using flash on the animals - they dont like it any more than we do.
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Some of the photos posted in this thread are lowland gorillas, which is okay since we are honoring all gorillas. This is a baby mountain gorilla from Rwanda that is of the same species that is being threatened in Virunga National park of the DR Congo:
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I only have photos of the Western Lowland gorillas at the National Zoo. I am heart broken by the turn of events for the Mountain Gorillas, kumasawa. I did not realize the crisis was as bad as it is now. Thank you for bringing it to the forefront, even if it is truly terrible news. Maybe we can make a difference if we all help with funds.
Originally posted 70 months ago.
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Gini~ (a group admin) edited this topic 70 months ago.
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There're lots of (photos of) mountain gorillas in Flickr but I'm having hard times with Flickr today. Someone better connected may invite them?
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Posted 70 months ago.
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According to my reading there are very few mtn gorillas in captivity in the world (and none in the US, btw), so most photos are likely lowland if not in the wild.
This is one of my lowlands from the Oklahoma City Zoo,
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Soulful
in San Francisco
Originally posted 70 months ago.
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Mi-ly edited this topic 70 months ago.
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Posted 70 months ago.
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Originally posted 70 months ago.
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ucumari edited this topic 70 months ago.
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ucumari, those are beatiful! That child is priceless!
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Uganda mountain gorilla
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Mountain Gorilla Mom and Baby in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda...
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These are wonderful... I think lowland gorillas aren't having it much easier than Mountain gorillas? Does anyone know? So definitely this is a place to honor all gorillas.
Eventually I will be making a mosaic of this growing collection.... please let me know if you don't want your image used.
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Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are the most common gorilla but all four subspecies are listed as Endangered. Other 3 species are: Eastern Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri), the Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) and the Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli)
Originally posted 70 months ago.
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Susan L. Pettitt Photography (Away) edited this topic 70 months ago.
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Thanks for the information! Are there some groups that are doing o.k and are reasonably well protected? Also do you mind if your images go into a mosaic, they are very beautiful.
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going into a mosaic is fine with me.
The Western Lowland is doing the best out of all of them but they are all highly endangered do to:
"Until several decades ago, gorilla populations enjoyed the seclusion of vast tracts of forest. Today, Africa's growing population puts many pressures on these declining primates. Logging roads snake into forests, opening frontiers to settlers and loggers, while hunters kill or capture gorillas for their meat, parts (sometimes sold as souvenirs), or because the animals raid farm fields. Gorilla meat is eaten by hunters and loggers, and is also sold in city markets and restaurants. While protection laws exist in most countries still inhabited by gorillas, enforcement is often lacking. Civil wars in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have harmed conservation efforts in these countries and opened parks to poachers. Gorillas also stumble into snares set for other animals, and may be killed or injured. Increased political stability, better public awareness, and carefully protected parks would go a long way toward reversing the gorillas' decline."
Info taken from the National Zoo Website
From all my readings I have done the past several months on Gorillas all gorilla groups (families) are facing the same thing.
Originally posted 70 months ago.
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Susan L. Pettitt Photography (Away) edited this topic 70 months ago.
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Also I found this on the National Zoo Website that gives a little bit in site to how big of an area the gorillas are in:
As you can see the Mountain Gorillas and the Cross River Gorillas are in a tiny sector of Africa.
Originally posted 70 months ago.
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Susan L. Pettitt Photography (Away) edited this topic 70 months ago.
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(()) that is great you're ok with it! I am hoping your map will be in the mosaic to... I'll check to see if it works.
Nope... did you upload this to your photostream? or ??
Originally posted 70 months ago.
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yeimaya edited this topic 70 months ago.
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The map is actually linked to the actual website. I did not upload into my stream since it was not mine.
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here is the actual link to it that might work for the mosaic:
nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/Primates/Facts/images/images/G...
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This is Agashya, the sliverback of "Group 13" in Rwanda. For those who don't know/aren't members, I have a Flickr group dedicated to mountain gorillas here: www.flickr.com/groups/mountaingorillas/
All are welcome to join, but please note that only photos of mountain gorillas are accepted into the pool (i.e. no lowland gorillas).
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luvhumpbacks [deleted] says:
Western Lowland Gorillas - Toronto Zoo - Baby Sadiki & Charles. All the above posts are Fantastic!!! What an awesome tribute. Thanks! to Zoogrammy for the Invitation.
This one is Samantha, Western Lowland Gorilla and Momma to the above Baby Sadiki. Thanks! to Makeupanid for the Invitation.
Originally posted 70 months ago.
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luvhumpbacks edited this topic 70 months ago.
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Here is one of my favorites of Oscar Jonesy
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Western Lowland Gorilla at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, WA
"When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate on the preservation of the future. " ~ Dian Fossey
Originally posted 70 months ago.
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shesnuckinfuts (a group admin) edited this topic 70 months ago.
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MR.A~100 [deleted] says:
Shes so beautiful look at those eyes!
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Mating Gorillas - Taken up a volcano in Virunga in then Zaire, 1993.
Sorry for poor quality.
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One more - a bit indistinct but I'm always touched to see the little baby gorilla hand. My other gorilla photos are not so good but take a look if you like.
It depresses me terribly to think that this group of gorillas I met 15 years ago may well have been poached, or hunted in during the neighboring genocide in Rwanda.
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The first mosaic ends here (more or less)
Originally posted 70 months ago.
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yeimaya edited this topic 69 months ago.
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Posted 70 months ago.
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All gorilla species are endangered, but the mountain gorillas in DR Congo are especially vulnerable this week due to the rebel forces in the virungas. I think that National Geographic news posts always give a lot of information about this terrible subject. Here is today's article:
news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/09/070905-africa-go...
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Thanks zoogrammy for the invite - I appreciate it.
Also, thanks to everyone for sharing so many beautiful photos.
Posted 69 months ago.
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Posted 69 months ago.
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I think..., therefore I am.
Originally posted 69 months ago.
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FlowrBx edited this topic 69 months ago.
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Wow, these are ALL lovely & touching shots!
This is Baraka. He is a Western Lowland gorilla but he wanted to show his support for his cousins in the mountains!
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This is Poppy. She is the matriarch of the Susa Group in the Parc des Volcans, Rwanda and is the only one old enough to remember Dian Fossey, who mentioned her in her writings.
Posted 69 months ago.
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Gail, thank you for using my photo....that put a big smile on my face :-)
Here's some info that I added to my series with Big Boy:
Gorillas In Danger
All types of gorillas are in serious danger of extinction in the wild. Western gorillas number only about 110,000 – most of them the western lowland subspecies, plus a few hundred of the other western subspecies, the Cross River gorilla. Eastern gorillas are even more rare: one subspecies, the eastern lowland gorilla, numbers only about 10,000, while the mountain gorilla subspecies numbers just a few hundred. That means there are fewer than 125,000 wild gorillas total.
What’s happening to gorillas? Logging is the root of the problem. First of all and most obviously, logging destroys gorillas’ habitat (as does the expansion of agriculture and human settlements). But logging leads to other problems as well. Loggers build roads that provide an easy route for the spread of lethal diseases like ebola. Roads also make it easy for hunters to come into the forest and poach gorillas and other animals. While some gorillas continue to be hunted for body parts (to make gorilla-hand ashtrays, for instance), more and more gorillas are being killed for food. This bushmeat trade, as it’s called, affects other animals as well (including Chimpanzees and "Sumatran orangutan"s). These animals are being killed for their meat at a rate faster than they can reproduce. In some cases, hunters are poor people who need the protein to survive. But more and more, the carcasses are being sold to cities, where bushmeat is bought as a “gourmet” food.
Conservation groups are working to solve the bushmeat crisis before it’s too late for gorillas and other endangered animals. To learn more about what’s being done to help gorillas and other bushmeat victims, learn about the work of the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force.
What can you do to help gorillas? You can help protect their habitat. Make sure that you, your family, and friends choose wisely when buying wood products. Don’t buy items made from trees that were logged from gorillas’ habitat. Also, tell everyone you know to recycle their cell phones. Cell phones contain the mineral coltan, much of which is mined by destroying gorillas’ habitat. You can make a difference!
you can see the series here: www.flickr.com/photos/deestea/504593959/in/set-7215760023...
aren't those hands incredible?
a great big YAWN
I love this profile ~ looks like he is talking to God :-)
Soulful eyes
Peace to Every Soul
Posted 69 months ago.
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This is one of the Moms in the Sabhinyo group in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda.
Posted 69 months ago.
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Tears....
Soon I will make a mosaic and the intensity of all these images will come through full force.
Please keep them coming! And all of you that have news and links to things we can do please keep adding them.... I can't look at the pictures of their deaths, they keep bubbling up in my mind anyway, but want to keep informed and try to do everything I can to help.
so glad you are here.
thanks for the links and suggestions and showing us your obvious affection for the gorillas in photographs tht show so much of their character.
thanks for your photos of gorillas in the wild... they are particularly powerful since it hurts to know they maybe dead or in grave danger. Are there stories behind these photos... did some of you work with research groups or go to visit the parks?
Originally posted 69 months ago.
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yeimaya edited this topic 69 months ago.
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That should not stop you from adding your photos since as put it in her photo: "Western Lowland gorilla but he wanted to show his support for his cousins in the mountains!"
All of you thanks.... it is hard to deal with this horror alone and helps to know others are caring too.
Posted 69 months ago.
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Check this out in the large size!!! It shows so much of their character and our affection for them.
Does anyone object if this mosaic is used in positive ways.... I have a creative commons license so it is very easily downloadable (which seems like a good thing).
Which leads to the second question... should we offer this mosaic to organizations who might use it to help gorilla's? Can you suggest organizations?
And the third question... it can be made into a "motivator" with text, any thoughts about the text if we should chose to do that?
Posted 69 months ago.
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Fourthly..... we are 1/3 of the way towards a second mosaic so keep those photos coming
Oh fifthly ..... PLEASE feel free to add notes to the mosaic telling us about the photo.... who the gorilla is, what circumstances.
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sixthly ... haha just wanted to see if it passed the spell check.
Posted 69 months ago.
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Excellent job Gale!
LMAO at your spell check comment!!
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Gale you did an excellent job on the mosaic :) I added my notes to the mosaic to tell a little bit about the gorillas I take pictures of.
In a little over a week I should be getting more pictures of the Gorillas since the SF zoo and its members are celebrating Nneka the youngest of the gorilla groups birthday on the 15th so I will share those pictures with you guys when I get them.
Posted 69 months ago.
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yeimaya - your mosaic is fabulous - my heart is so touched to see how fast the word has spread and all the wonderful photos that have been posted here. tears again..... I will hunt for more gorilla photos and keep spreading the word.
Ft Worth Zoo - May 2005
Originally posted 69 months ago.
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ZGrmy ~ Loving Bear Cubs (a group admin) edited this topic 69 months ago.
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Thanks for the beautiful mosaic, and for including my work in it. I will change the license on my photos to permit this type of use.
Posted 69 months ago.
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These are really moving pictures. Here is another from Virunga (note the "toothpick" in the mouth).
Originally posted 69 months ago.
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John & Mel Kots edited this topic 69 months ago.
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This is a photograph from my visit to the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. The visit will be one of the highlights of my life. I can't understand how people could kill these animals - they are amazing and so like us. I was blown away by how similar their hands were to mine.
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Here's a few more shots of my favorite male Gorilla - Oscar Jonesy
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susan, your gorilla shots are absolutely fabulous !! Thanks so much for sharing.
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Originally posted 69 months ago.
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Susan L. Pettitt Photography (Away) edited this topic 69 months ago.
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Any of the photos I post in the next little bit are from my mountain gorilla trekking experience in DRC. Currently, as you know, there is war in the DRC that is threatening the survival of the mountain gorillas in that park. When I was there in 2005, the security situation was already perilous at best - most people believed we were crazy to enter the region in order to trek the gorillas. Let us hope that the situation improves.
Originally posted 69 months ago.
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jelite edited this topic 69 months ago.
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Posted 69 months ago.
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These are so wonderful and it hurts to know how threatened these very individuals are!
Soon another mosaic.
Any ideas how to put them to use helping those that are struggling to keep Rwandan gorillas alive? Do you know of good organizations that might want to use the mosaic?
Also any objections to having your image in a mosaic that might be used by such an organization? please say so in your post and I will skip over that image.
Originally posted 69 months ago.
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yeimaya edited this topic 69 months ago.
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Gale you might want to check with Gorilla Fund International or Wildlife Direct to see if they would like to use the mosaics. They are the two major organizations for helping to save the gorillas.
Posted 69 months ago.
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Not sure if they would use the mosaic but it would not hurt to also try the World Wildlife Fund - WWF
Posted 69 months ago.
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Has linked me to the Dian Fossey Gorilla fund where you can adopt a gorilla and she has posted our mosaic in support of their efforts. Check it out
Thanks Susan!
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these are wonderful! could you tell us a little about them?
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This is Makula, who's finger had been broken so he couldn't stretch it. At one moment he stretched his other finger too and he looked just like some angry rapper. Tought it was quite funny!
Posted 69 months ago.
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It is so painful to know that this wide eyed inquisitive young one is in grave danger. Thanks for your series showing so much of his/her young character. So much individual character is coming through
I look forward to another mosaic than you all for such a rich portrayal of their nature. 23 13 to go
Posted 69 months ago.
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Some shots of western lowland gorillas from the local zoo.
According to the zoos web page "Our ape and monkey-keeping is famous the world over. Four species of great apes live in family groups with lots of offspring. The animal nursery now serves Europe-wide as a kind of "kindergarten" when - as the exception to the rule - it is necessary to hand-rear the little ones. "
BTW: Do you know www.gorilla-haven.org ?
Posted 69 months ago.
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thank you... so much character comes through, sadness, humor, inquisitiveness, boredom
Posted 69 months ago.
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 -- from cc49 - (?)
Posted 68 months ago.
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Posted 67 months ago.
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Kamba ... captured from the wild! How sad ...
OK, its lowland gorilla .. but still gorilla. Im so glad that in Prague is very good exposition for them. Yes, its not wild but still much better than live in shopping park (Im sure that you know what about Im talking ... )
Originally posted 67 months ago.
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Marhi_226 edited this topic 67 months ago.
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Posted 66 months ago.
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Two of my favorite girls at Brookfield Zoo/Tropic World - Mom, Koola, Daughter, Kamba - Grandma "Binti Jua" lives here too.
Posted 66 months ago.
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Originally posted 65 months ago.
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mstickmanp edited this topic 65 months ago.
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I'll try to post some of my wild mountain gorilla shots here.
Posted 64 months ago.
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The eyes of the wild Mountain Gorillas in the Virungas of Rwanda...
The eyes of a gorilla...
One of the tiny baby gorillas, Shirimpumu, intently watches her mum sitting in the open field from the edge of the eucalyptus patch, while contemplating joining her. A gorilla's eyes are incredibly expressive, and this is such a beautiful gaze... Probably my favourite picture of the set. Continued...
The Gorilla Beringei Beringei, better known as the Mountain Gorilla, is the rarest of all gorillas, and only 700 survive, half of which here in the Virunga volcanoes between Uganda, Rwanda and The DR of Congo, and the other half in the Bwindi forest below the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda. There are no Mountain Gorillas in the zoos and because none have ever survived in the zoo, there is a universal agreement between zoos not to keep Mountain Gorillas. Instead the zoos keep the smaller lowland and river gorillas, which are generally lighter coloured, while the Mountain Gorillas are much longer haired to protect against the cold at the altitude in which they live. They are also much darker, being almost a perfect black - making photographing them a bit of a challenge!
The Gorilla tracking industry in Uganda and Rwanda has resulted in the gorillas becoming worth more alive than dead, but poaching has not completely been eliminated. The most recent killings were shootings carried out by remnant sections of the Hutu guerillas responsible for the 1994 Rwandan massacre, who are now in hiding just across the border in the DR of Congo. Accordingly rangers and armed soldiers stay with each group to protect them, in some cases literally with their lives - even throughout 1994. These rangers are unrecognised heroes!
Of about 15 gorilla groups roaming the Virungas, five groups have been habituated to the one hours' contact per day with tourists. Five groups are being observed for research, and the remaining five groups still live competely in the wild. No more than 8 people can take part in the tracking, so with 5 groups, that's 40 people maximum per day - globally ! - that have this eye opening experience. The US$500 tracking fee for a single one hour encounter is considerable, but every 'seat' is booked months in advance - last year 14,000 people made this eyeopening trip (generating US$7 million). The encounter is guaranteed, as the rangers plot the location by GPS, and radio ahead to the guides when the tourist groups leave base camp. This is eco tourism at its best!
See more mountain gorillas...!
Originally posted 64 months ago.
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youngrobv edited this topic 64 months ago.
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Would you say just a little about what it was like being so close to these gorillas and how they are doing? It looks like this particular park is pretty safe for them? Your flickriver set is wonderful.
Originally posted 64 months ago.
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yeimaya edited this topic 64 months ago.
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In Parc National Des Volcans, the gorillas seem to be doing fairly well, but it can still be a struggle. The second family we visited had a silverback (not the dominant male) that had lost a hand to a buffalo poacher's snare. On the bright side, we visited the two families with the youngest mountain gorilla babies in the world at the time. One was two days old, the other two weeks old.
Originally posted 64 months ago.
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Max Waugh Photography (a group admin) edited this topic 64 months ago.
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!!! that is so hopeful. Thanks
Posted 64 months ago.
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Yeimaya, there are no words to explain what it's like, honestly, you have to look into their eys and experience it for yourself, it's a unique experience. The park is fairly safe for them by virtue of the ORTPN's reinvestment in the surrounding subsistence farming communities. So, while poaching still occurs, it is now extremely rare and in fact guerilla shootings of gorillas by the rebels across the border in DRC (as a antitourism terrorism) are more common, if also very rare.
I've updated the info with the photos with a little more background...
Posted 64 months ago.
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