"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged
by the way its animals are treated."
Mahatma Ghandi...
"Why the Mountain Gorillas?"my
friends asked...
It sounds crazy but...
I remember December 16th, 2005, as the day I was bored and decided
to sneak out of work for a matinee and 3 hours later walked out of
the theater with a different outlook on life. The film was Peter
Jackson's remake of "King Kong", and for some reason the death of a
fictitious, 30 foot tall computer-generated gorilla left me deeply
saddened for days! I couldn't focus at work, and I thought to
myself, "have I lost my mind?" I had always loved animals, I had a
zoology degree, and although I'd never studied primates specifically
(only Homo sapiens in Western Montana where I went to college!) I'd
always been fascinated with and interested in them.
And so a seed was planted. Peter Jackson had created an old, rusty,
battered and bruised lonely Silverback Gorilla with a crazy streak
in him, and I couldn't get him out of my mind.
I listened to the soundtrack from the film over and over in my car
while driving to work, I watched the DVD to the point that my wife
commented, "you must have the dialogue memorized by now." Was I
obsessed? You be the judge; here is what happened when the local NBC
affiliate, King5, came to my home to interview me in regards to
something I had done to thank the local Power Company for their hard work after a horrible windstorm knocked out power for over a
week.
And the seed grew...
On a Sunday afternoon in the spring of 2007,
the seed germinated. Home alone and searching for a program to watch
on TV, I came across "Instinct", a film in which Anthony Hopkins
plays a mysterious, psychologically disturbed anthropologist who
disappears in Central Africa while studying Mountain Gorillas. As I
watched a scene towards the end of the film where Anthony Hopkin's
character relives the death of his "new family" of Mountain Gorillas
at the hands of ruthless poachers, the seed exploded...
I had to do something, time to stop thinking and start acting.
And so "Gorillas in Our Midst" was born. I'm just a guy who was
touched to the point of thinking, thought to the point of wanting,
wanted to the point of acting, and acted to the point of executing a
plan.
Sounds crazy, but it is beautiful in its simplicity. Anyone can do
it. Anyone. Think about it...
God talks to us in strange ways at unexpected times, so pay
attention when it happens!
I've provided some links for you to view. I hope you
appreciate them:
MGVP improves the sustainability of the mountain gorilla populations by monitoring the gorillas' health, providing veterinary care, conducting relevant health studies and disseminating information. Monitoring the health of the population includes observations and accumulation of data, as well as collecting and analyzing biological samples. Providing health care involves interventions for treatment when afflictions are severe, and/or preventative measures when health threats are present. Conducting relevant health studies includes all research conducted in an effort to gain knowledge regarding the health and sustainability of the mountain gorillas and their ecosystem. MGVP makes every effort to disseminate information to increase public awareness of programs. In addition, MGVP publishes and/or presents results of the scientific studies, and shares data with other agencies. Recognizing the continual need to provide these services, MGVP engages in programs to build scientific capacity within the host countries to carry out this mission.
The health of the gorillas depends on their immediate habitat as well as the surrounding community that influences them. MGVP must therefore think of the health and well-being of all organisms in the park and surrounding influential areas. We need to consider other wildlife, as well as people (who greatly influence the health and well-being of the park inhabitants) and the domestic animals supporting the highly dense populations of people surrounding the park. To accomplish this we need to build capacity and collaboration with other organizations interested in the health of this area, and to continue our strong research program to help understand how all ecosystem organisms function and interact to produce a health environment.
