Gorilla in Gabon. Paul Swen Photography
#1: You have seen it on the blog everyday, come on out to the zoo on September 10th and hear firsthand from a wildlife veterinarian who spends a good portion of his time treating injured Mountain Gorilla’s in Rwanda . The Houston Zoo is hosting Dr. Michael Cranfield, Executive Director of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project as part of our Call of the Wild Lecture Series September 10th, 20009. Please go to http://www.houstonzoo.org/lectureseries/
#2: Back in May, we hosted a very special art gallery event called Images of Africa with local Houston photographer Paul Swen. Here is an opportunity to not only support wildlife conservation, but get a very special signed and limited edition photograph of some of the most unique views of Africa you will ever see. To view the photographs available for sale ttp://www.houstonzoo.org/imagesofafrica/.
Gorilla Orphan at Evengue Rescue Center, Gabon. Paul Swen Photography
#3: Recycle your unwanted electronic goods. That includes cell phones, laptops, pagers and other electronic devices. We mentioned last week Coltan ore also called Columbite-tantalite. This is a dull metallic ore found in major quantities in the eastern areas of the African Congo. It is used in cell phones, laptops, pagers and other electronic devices. When refined, coltan becomes metallic tantalum, a heat resistant powder that can hold a high electrical charge. Some types of Coltan mining may occur illegally in protected lands all across the Congo which in turn put wildlife such as Elephants and Gorillas of the Congo region at risk. Eighty percent of the world’s known coltan supply is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There, it is mined by hand by groups of men digging basins in streams, scraping away dirt to get to the muddy coltan underneath. Recycling unused cell phones can help protect the wildlife, since reuse of the phones results in the need for fewer new ones, which reduces the need for coltan mining. The Houston Zoo accepts cell phones for recycling by mail or at our gift shop http://www.houstonzoo.org/Recycling/
#4 Want to step out on a limb? Our travel partner Terra Incognita Ecotours leads trips to Rwanda to see Mountain Gorillas in Volcanoes National Park a number of times a year. Actually, we are there right now (yes – I pre-scehduled this blog). Experiencing nature inspires us to protect it so take a look at our travel program http://www.houstonzoo.org/safari or Terra Incognita at http://www.ecotours.com/dest_rwanda.html
Silverback-Gabon. Paul Swen Photography
#5) Library, Bookstore, DVD, Online??? Take a few minutes and watch or read: Mountain Gorillas: Biology, Conservation and Coexistence, Gorillas in the Mist, Goodnight, Gorilla or even Gorilla Gorilla, In the Kingdom of Gorillas: Fragile Species in a Dangerous Land, Saving a Species: Gorilla on the Brink (DVD), No One Loved Gorillas More: Dian Fossey-Letters from the Mist, The Year of the Gorilla, Mountain Gorillas: Three Decades of Research at Karisoke. You get the point…
Tomorrow’s Blog: The Bushmeat Trade