Friend a Gorilla, Follow Them on Twitter
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Have you ever wanted to friend or follow a gorilla? Well, now you can!
Thanks to the launch of friendagorilla.org, people will be able to monitor the everyday lives of one of the 720 remaining mountain gorillas online, by viewing videos, pictures and rangers’ blogs through Twitter, Facebook and other sites. Satellite tracking is another key feature that will also be available to users.
“By paying one dollar to Friend a Gorilla, everybody contributes to the conservation of this species,” said Moses Mapesa Wafula, head of the UWA (Uganda Wildlife Authority).
Hollywood celebrities are even getting involved with this campaign, including star of the American Pie movies, Jason Biggs. “It was pretty surreal. I felt like when I made eye contact with the gorillas, it was like an out-of-body experience,” he told Reuters after a face to face encounter with one of the gorillas at Bwindi. “It was mind-blowing.”
This campaign is the first time ever that a social networking platform has been utilized for conservation efforts. Through this program, organizers are hoping to earn at least $100,000, if not more. The money received will go towards conservation efforts and also the promoting of alternative lifestyles for those who live in and around Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park; home to 370 of the mountain gorillas.
For more information on the gorillas and how you can befriend them, check out friendagorilla.org!
By Heidi Marshall
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Tags: gorilla, twitter, Wildlife & Flora
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