World Gorilla Day

Recognized every September 24th, World Gorilla Day is an opportunity to celebrate the gorillas who are our nearest living relatives after chimpanzees and a call for action on behalf of their future. This day encourages people to support the gorillas by following international agreements like the

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory SpeciesEOF

• Western culture has misunderstood gorillas and represented them in a negative way throughout history.
• The word 'gorilla' was introduced for the first time by Thomas Staughton Savage and Jeffries Wyman in 1847.
• The term believed to be coined from the accounts of Hanno, an ancient explorer who spoke about wild men on the coast of West Africa.
• Some researchers have suggested Hanno's stories might describe gorillas ('gorillai') and not wild men.
• The current analogies and apprehensions we have draw attention to human-animal relationships of the past.
• World Gorilla Day seeks to provide an opportunity for people to come together and learn about gorillas, their status, the threats they face in the wild as well as promote our growing success at helping them survive.