No, we’re not talking here of the Chinese Zodiac and its 12 animal signs. THAT year will start around a month from this date. The Year of the Gorilla started on December 1, 2oo8.
That’s when the United Nations declared 2009 as the year of the endangered giant primate to highlight their plight due to disease, hunting, and deforestation. A decision probably helped by the discovery of a population of the Critically Endangered Western lowland gorilla.
The official website is found here.
This is probably the most wonderful news for conservation and biodiversity this year. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS.org) has reported an unusually large population of the scarce Western lowland gorilla in a swampy forest measuring 18,000 square miles in the Republic of Congo.
Their census counted 125,000 individuals. That’s 8 gorillas per half square mile. It was originally thought that there were less than 50,000 of the gorillas in their entire range. However, there is little time for rejoicing because the Republic of Congo government is planning to hand out licenses to loggers to test the population’s habitat. The Wildlife Conservation Society is inviting everybody to take action here.
Check out this video of the group, note the baby gorillas. 
Learn more about Gorillas, check out these books at Amazon:
This is the legendary story of Diane Fossey and her gorillas. For those who can’t sit through a whole book, her story is also available in DVD
The story of little Koko, the female gorilla who knows the American sign language, her mentor Francine Patterson, and kitten, All Ball (so named because he had no tail).
3. In the Kingdom of Gorillas: Fragile Species in a Dangerous Land
A detailed account of both field research and the political challenges of establishing the Mountain Gorilla Project, a conservation program that proved combining research, ecotourism and education could both protect these majestic primates and generate economy-boosting revenues. It is a is a case study in how conservation must be grounded in the realities of people.
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