Dear friends and family,

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here's to a wonderful 2013!

I hope so much you will join me on this journey to help Mountain Gorillas.

I have been fascinated by monkeys and great apes (along with much of the rest of the animal kingdon) since a wee boy. In the last decade or so, Mountain Gorillas have really caught my imagination, perhaps hightened by the film "Gorillas in the Mist" in which Sigorney Weaver portrays Dian Fossey' absolutely remarkable work (Sigorney went back to visit the Gorilla family she worked with a few years ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZFoqh8PQ88)

I believe Mountain Gorillas are truly majestic animals. They are a very close relative of ours, being the next closest relative to us after Bonobos and the Chimpanzees (they even have "BO" or Body Odour: http://hannahz.hubpages.com/hub/Gorillas-and-Humans-10-Facts-on-Why-We-are-More-Similar-Than-We-Think).

They are highly intelligent animals - here's an excerpt from Wikipedia: 

"Gorillas are considered highly intelligent. A few individuals in captivity, such as Koko, have been taught a subset of sign language. Like the other great apes, gorillas can laugh, grieve, have "rich emotional lives", develop strong family bonds, make and use tools, and think about the past and future. Some researchers believe gorillas have spiritual feelings or religious sentiments. They have been shown to have cultures in different areas revolving around different methods of food preparation, and will show individual color preferences."

We can see so much of us in them - some of us more than others of course, mentioning no names - but they desperately need our help as they are deeply under threat of extinction.

The Gorilla Organisation does amazing work in the field and at HQ in trying to combate the daily threats to the lives of the Mountain Gorillas, who mainly live in the Virunga Massif Mountain forests and Bwindi Impenetrable forest in central Africa.

Not infrequently, Gorilla staff in the field have paid the ultimate price in trying to protect these beautiful animals against poachers for instance - 150 park rangers have died protecting mountain gorillas since 1990 in Virunga ... A deeply noble sacrifice in my eyes.

I've followed and supported the charity for many years and have been constantly blown away by the work it does, and its innovative approaches to the ever changing and often deadly circumstances for both humans and Gorillas. Some of the innovative work they do includes "promoting sustainable livelihoods in villages nearby the Gorilla habitat, providing alternatives to the illegal use of forest resources and nurturing young conservationists of the future".

Put bluntly, Mountain Gorillas are seriously up against it and I believe it is our duty as "custodians" of this earth to support them (and all other species!) as much as is humanly possible. 

For my part, as Mattias says when answering the door to the Roman Centurian who wants to search his house in the Life of Brian "My legs are old and bent, my ears are grizzled..." so completing the marathon will clearly be one heck of a challenge (not because of the grizzled ears of course, though I may also struggle to hear the starter gun...). 

I hope so much that you will join me in helping support the astonishing work these people do and continue to support the struggle to find a more lasting solution to ensure the survival of Mountain Gorillas.

YOUR DONATION will go a long way. For instance, a donation of £50 could help equip a forest ranger who protects the mountain gorillas, fund a fuel saving stove which burns 75% less wood from the gorilla's forests and help plant tree saplings which would help reforest (part of) the mountain gorillas habitat. Of course, many more key / critical projects dedicated to the protection and preservation of Mountain Gorillas and those human communities which border them are under way too. 

Please please please dig deep. I thank you very much for any and all support you can provide. 

Love

Fred

ONLINE DONATION: And finally, some blurb from this Just Giving page about how easy it is to donate online!!

TEXT DONATION: You can also donate on your mobile by texting GORR99 to 70070 and then simply indicating how much you wish to donate, for instance £20. Thanks again!!

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