Ugandan gorillas digitally network for help

Swinging its way onto the scene of internet social networking is a cyber clique of jungle-dwelling east African mountain gorillas mingling for their own survival.

Aimed at funding conservation efforts for African gorillas, Uganda Wildlife Authority’s “Friend a Gorilla” campaign is scheduled to launch this Saturday.

Through the campaign’s website (www.friendagorilla.org) human fans will be able to follow the everyday drama of some of the few remaining mountain gorillas, from the comfort of their own PCs; and, at the same time, followers will have the opportunity to aid in the protection the endangered species.

For a small donation, friends will be able to access videos, pictures and blogs (humans’) through websites like Facebook and Twitter; fans will also be able to follow their new friends’ footsteps via satellite tracking, UWA head Moses Mapesa Wafula announced in a press release.

He stated that although the gorillas remain endangered, the UWA has calculates the species has seen a 12 percent growth-rate over the last 25 years, doubling the population.

“By paying one dollar to Friend a Gorilla, everybody contributes to the conservation of this species,” he said.

Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park plays host to roughly half of the world’s 370 remaining mountain gorillas.

Monies raised by the Friend a Gorilla campaign will be used to help protect the species from poaching and illegal logging, as well as other conservation efforts. Campaign organizers say that this is the first time social networking has been harnessed for conservation; they’re hoping the project will generate around $100,000 in the first three months and a further $350,000 within the first year.