Ugandan gorillas search for friends on the Internet

In an effort to save the Ugandan mountain gorilla the Uganda Wildlife Authority have launched a programme which will involve the endangered gorillas appearing on line as they look for friends.

The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Uganda is currently home to approximately half of the worlds 740 remaining mountain gorillas. The park is home to roughly 340 of them. Forty more live at another Uganda reserve. The remainder live in the Virunga mountain range. The range stretches from Uganda and into Rwanda and from there into war torn Congo. Silverback males can reach over seven feet in height (2.1 metres) and weigh 400lbs (180kgs) but despite that they continue to be threatened by poachers who hunt then for their meat, charcoal burners and farmers who continually encroach on their habitat and by stray bullets fired by rebels on the run. Their survival depends on the rangers who protect them with automatic rifles. As the Press Association reports, the hope from the Wildlife Authority is that, for a minimum donation of one dollar, fans will follow a gorilla on Twitter or befriend them on Facebook or MySpace in return for regular updates about their chosen gorilla. Fans will also receive gorilla trivia such as the fact that the word 'gorilla' derives from 'gorillai' the Greek word for 'hairy women'. It's also hoped that fans would have their gorilla picture displayed on their homepage. The money raised would go to hire extra rangers that would help to protect the gorillas and their habitat. A spokeswoman for Wildlife Authority, Lilian Nsubuga said that this would also give those who could not afford to visit the gorillas in Uganda the chance to feel closer to them. Roughly 10,500 tourists visit the gorillas each year in Uganda. A permit to visit the park costs 500 dollars per person. Last year 600 million dollars was earned through tourism in Uganda, 90% of that from gorilla tourism. The director of the gorilla website, Thomas Slater, said that users of the Internet would be able to befriend any individual from one of several groups of the gorillas. He also said, "You will be able to learn more concerning the particular gorilla, its character, family and relationships."