Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

Gorillas move together. 💛

In these photos from the Fossey Fund vault, watch members of the Titus group cross a river together. ➡️ ➡️ ➡️ 🌊

(P.S. Don't forget that you can help our teams with tangible needs this ! 🦍 To learn more, visit: https://donate.gorillafund.org/page/69362/donate/1?ea.tracking.id=social)

Who is Titus? He's the "Gorilla King," of course! 🦍

Born on Aug. 24, 1974, and studied by Dian Fossey herself, the legendary Titus – nicknamed the “gorilla king” – was born to mother Flossie and father Uncle Bert. This famous gorilla, a nephew of Dian’s favorite gorilla, Digit, overcame many early-life challenges, including losing his father and uncle to poachers, eventually becoming one of the greatest dominant silverbacks in mountain gorilla history.

Titus' birthday is TOMORROW, Aug. 24! 🎉 Want to celebrate? Here are TWO WAYS:

1️⃣ Preorder a World Gorilla Day T-shirt starring Titus! Learn more OR purchase your tee today (use code HappyTitusDay for 25% off your Titus shirt)!

U.S. Customers:
https://store.gorillafund.org/discount/HappyTitusDay?redirect=%2Fproducts%2Fworld-gorilla-day-2024-short-sleeve-tee

Europe Customers:
https://store.eu.gorillafund.org/discount/HappyTitusDay?redirect=%2Fproducts%2Fworld-gorilla-day-2024-short-sleeve-tee

2️⃣ Symbolically adopt Titus! You will receive a printed photo of Titus, biography, adoption certificate and our new gorilla plush modeled after Titus' likeness and noseprint! Because your package will be customized, we will ship by the end of August. Proceeds from Titus' historic adoption will go to our boots-on-the-ground protection work in the wild. This package is available to U.S. residents ONLY. Learn more OR adopt:
https://donate.gorillafund.org/page/66420/shop/1?ea.tracking.id=social

Let's celebrate Titus - and gorilla conservation - together! 🦍 💛

🚨 We have BREAKING NEWS... and we HAVE TO tell somebody! 🚨

Our e-store is NOW AVAILABLE in Europe!

Shop gorilla gear TODAY and support our conservation work. 100% of net proceeds go to our boots-on-the-ground efforts!

Visit our e-store today:
https://store.eu.gorillafund.org

This moment is 😍 😍 😍

Back in February of this year, Ukwiyunga gave birth for the first time. Just look at this sweet bonding moment between mother and infant! These gorillas live in Segasira's group.

📸 Veronica Vecellio

These kids represent the future, and that future is bright! 😃 ☀️

Since 2019, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund has hosted an annual summer conservation camp for primary students in Rwanda, in collaboration with our conservation partners: Children in the Wilderness, Conservation Heritage-Turambe and Muhisimbi Voice of Youth in Conservation.

This August we held the fourth edition of this impactful (And FUN!) camp at our Ellen Campus. 🦍 🌳

Can you believe it? We welcomed more than 80 primary students from eight schools neighboring Volcanoes National Park, who gathered to learn about conservation. These kids explored their vital role in protecting mountain gorillas and preserving biodiversity while learning to raise awareness for conservation efforts.

And this camp is more than just an educational experience - it's a BLAST! The summer camp provides a space where kids can connect, express themselves and develop social skills through interactive activities and play.

“To safeguard the future of mountain gorillas and other biodiversity, we must invest in conservation education and nurture our future leaders and conservation champions. I’m truly amazed by how deeply these students understand nature, asking questions that are remarkably advanced for their age,” says Elias Nizeyimana, our conservation education coordinator.

We wrapped up the first part of our camp with an inspiring walk to raise awareness about conservation (pictured). These kids are already passionate about saving gorillas... and the planet! 🦍

No one – not even Dian Fossey herself – could have predicted the conservation success of mountain gorillas.

Yet, now they are the only non-human great ape increasing in number.

But this work is far from complete. There are only 1,000 mountain gorillas left and Grauer’s gorillas, which we protect in the DR Congo, have lost 60% of their population in recent decades.

So, for World Gorilla Day this year, will you contribute toward a special need for our organization? Whether it’s helping to provide a tent for a tracker, making campus visits possible for local students or feeding our field staff, you will tangibly further the protection of gorillas. 🦍

✨ Learn how YOU can help with a tangible need:
https://donate.gorillafund.org/page/69362/donate/1?ea.tracking.id=social

World Gorilla Day 2024 is presented by SouthState Bank 🦍

Happy World Photography Day! 📷🎞️

Now announcing the winner of our 18+ Biodiversity category for our first-annual Wildlife Photography Competition:

“The Cape Buffalo and the Oxpecker - Kenya” by Sébastien Cosson

✨ Sébastien says: “The cape buffalo and oxpecker share a symbiotic relationship where the oxpeckers feed on ticks, parasites from the buffalo's body while the buffalo enjoys reduced parasitic loads, enhancing their health and comfort. They also warn each other if any danger is nearby. A perfect illustration that species that look different can thrive on mutual support and the exchange of benefits.”

Please join us in congratulating Sébastien Cosson!

Happy World Photography Day! 📷🎞️

Now announcing the winner of our Junior Wild Gorillas category for our first-annual Wildlife Photography Competition:

“Protector” by AnnaMarie Ameya Miller

✨AnnaMarie says: “Just as we must protect these mountain gorillas and conserve their home, this silverback has a duty to protect his family.”

Please join us in congratulating AnnaMarie Ameya Miller and stay tuned for one more contest winner! 📷

Happy World Photography Day! 📷🎞️

Now announcing the winner of our 18+ Wild Gorillas category for our first-annual Wildlife Photography Competition:

“Infant Cradling Mother’s Face” by Michael Lorentz

✨Michael says: “This infant cradling its mother’s face symbolizes the deep familial bonds that exist within gorilla communities, mirroring our human experience of love and protection. By protecting gorillas, we safeguard not only a species but the intricate social structures and emotional lives that define them.”

Please join us in congratulating Michael Lorentz and stay tuned for two more contest winners! 📷📷

Check out this adorable picture! 😍 😃 💛 💛

Mother-infant pair Muntu and Umucunguzi live in the Musilikale group, which includes 23 individuals. Interestingly, Muntu is the oldest in the family while her infant Umucunguzi is the youngest.

📸 Ella Brown

Mountain gorillas are primarily terrestrial, meaning they travel on the ground. However, they will occasionally climb trees! 🌳 🦍

Learn more about gorilla movement:

Locomotion - Dian Fossey - Due to the abundance of food sources in undisturbed habitat, and gorillas’ willingness to eat many different types of plants, some gorillas don’t have to travel far distances to find their food. In fact, mountain gorillas travel on average less than one mile per day!

Our World Gorilla Day T-shirts are NOW AVAILABLE for preorder and WE’RE IN LOVE!! 😍 💛

T-shirts feature three beloved gorillas ➡️ ➡️ ➡️

The calm, cool and collected Bigwi!

The beautiful and *very* photogenic Karibu!

AND

The one and only Titus, the gorilla king!

100% of the net proceeds of our World Gorilla Day tee presales go directly to our boots-on-the-ground conservation efforts.

Order today and receive your tee in time for September 24: World Gorilla Day! 🦍

Preorder your T-shirt:
https://store.gorillafund.org/products/world-gorilla-day-2024-short-sleeve-tee

Here at the Fossey Fund, we are excited to celebrate World Photography Day on Aug. 19 – a day to recognize all things photography and share some of our favorite photographs of the year and the stories behind them. 📷 🦍 🐒 🐘

Check out these amazing moments in time with our favorite animals on the planet and a few members of neighboring species:

World Photography Day and gorilla research and conservation – A perfect pair - Dian Fossey Photography plays an important role in many aspects of research and conservation, and here at the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund it is one of the tools we use every day. Photos are a critical part of identifying mountain gorillas due to their unique noseprints. Our field teams take photographs of each gor...

🚨 LAST CHANCE, LAST DAY! 🚨

Enter the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Wildlife Photography Competition by 11:59 PM EDT TODAY!

Learn more OR enter:
https://gorillafund.org/wpd24/

The Summer 2024 Olympics may be over and many are already looking forward to 2028 in Los Angeles, but we couldn’t help but be alarmed by this recent CNN article on how climate change can and will impact the summer Olympics in the future…

Climate change affects EVERYTHING, that is why we are doing our part. Our work in the DR Congo is critical to stopping and reversing climate change. By protecting gorillas, we are helping keep the critical forests of the Congo Basin in balance, which act as the lungs of the planet and help mitigate climate change. 🌳

Learn more about how climate change will be a problem for the Olympics:

These cities will be too hot for the Olympics by 2050 | CNN Most of the world’s cities will be unable to host the Games in the coming decades’ summer months, in the coming decades, as they blow past the threshold of safe humid heat.

Uh-oh! Twibuke has competition! 🦍

The Ntambara group has thrived under Twibuke's leadership for many years. But now, his younger brother Inkumbuza may be starting to challenge his dominance.

Read the whole story here:
https://gorillafund.org/gorilla-behavior/brotherly-shove-small-signs-suggest-the-start-of-a-dominance-challenge-in-ntambaras-group/

Brotherly shove? Small signs suggest the start of a dominance challenge in Ntambara’s group. - Dian Fossey One of the mountain gorilla groups monitored every day by Fossey Fund staff and which has been stable for many years, is starting to exhibit interesting changes. The group – named after the late silverback Ntambara – has been thriving under the leadership of silverback Twibuke since 2015. At top...

Only TWO DAYS until the deadline! 😃

Enter the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Wildlife Photography Competition by THIS THURSDAY, Aug. 15 at 11:59 PM EDT!

Learn more or enter:
https://gorillafund.org/wpd24/

He makes a lot of faces. 😋 😜 🦍

Meet Pato, the dominant silverback of the Titus group! If his face wasn't already incredibly unique in and of itself, Pato is also very expressive. Take a quick look at some of his faces! ➡️ ➡️ ➡️

📸 McKensey Miller, James Munyawera and Olivier Dusenge

💡 It's a Girls In Conservation update! Read on to learn what these amazing young women are up to:

Two weeks ago, our Girls in Conservation program hosted a four-day computer literacy workshop, which concluded with a nature walk in Volcanoes National Park. This second round of digital literacy training is part of our ongoing commitment to support the young girls in our scholarship program, equipping them with essential digital skills that complement their education and prepare them for future conservation careers!

“We want these girls to be well-prepared to pursue their dream careers and further their education in an increasingly digital world. Therefore, we ensure that we equip them with the right skills and instill confidence in them needed for future success,” says Nadia Niyonizeye, communications and Girls in Conservation project coordinator.

📸 Photos: Nadia Nyonizeye & Bertrand Mahirwe

Happy Birthday, Duhuze! 🎉

Today, Duhuze turns 5 years old. It's a special birthday for a special gorilla! 🎊

📸 Eric Ndayishimiye

It’s rare to see a solitary male gorilla successfully – and rapidly – build his own thriving family. But 19-year-old silverback Mutobo is doing an excellent job at it, just five years after forming his group. 🦍

Read more about Mutobo (and learn how you can adopt him in the comments below):

Silverback Mutobo: a remarkable leader and father - Dian Fossey It’s rare to see a solitary male gorilla successfully – and rapidly – build his own thriving family. But 19-year-old silverback Mutobo is doing an excellent job at it, just five years after forming his group. He now leads 15 gorillas with impressive confidence, as the only adult male in the gr...

Our June 2024 Gorilla Journal newsletter has dropped online! 🗞️ 📰 🦍

Be sure to check it out to catch exciting updates from the Fossey Fund:

June 2024 Gorilla Journal - Dian Fossey