Ape Awareness Month- November

[Guest guest]

While this was posted earlier this month, it deserves

repeating as

November is upon us. PLEASE help spread this message

of community

participation and awareness raising.

 

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Orang Utan Republik Education Initiative, Los Angeles

Zoo and San

Diego Zoo Invite All Organizations and Concerned

Citizens to Join

Forces in Raising Awareness about the Endangered Apes

During the

Month of November

 

Los Angeles, Calif.- October 17, 2005. With their

numbers plummeting

daily, an appeal is being made to all concerned

organizations and

people to focus attention on all species of apes:

chimpanzee, bonobo,

gorilla, orangutan, gibbon and siamang during the

month of November.

Orangutan conservation organizations have consistently

promoted

International Orangutan Awareness Week (IOAW) over the

past decade

effectively drawing attention on the plight Asian

great ape. But all

apes are endangered. A gathering of conservationists

and scientists

in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in

September

concluded that the prospects for all the ape species

remains bleak

as bush meat, habitat destruction, and the illegal pet

and curio

trades erode habitat and decimate the species. More

needs to be

done to educate the public, particularly individuals

and

institutions in habitat countries.

 

On the continent of Africa, three species, chimpanzee,

bonobo and

gorilla are being victimized by the bushmeat trade

which has become a

major enterprise in communities that have no

prohibition against

eating primates. Located in dozens of impoverished and

politically

unstable countries across equatorial Africa, those

great apes

populations have declined precipitously over the past

decade.

Tragically, chimpanzees are now reported to be extinct

in at least

four of the 25 countries they once inhabited. Bonobos,

located only

in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are

particularly vulnerable

to extinction due to their restricted range and the

political

turmoil in that country. Gorillas, too, are loosing

habitat and are

being killed for the bushmeat and curio trades.

 

The situation in Southeast Asia s also dire for the

orangutan, gibbon

and siamang. Forest habitat in Thailand, Malaysia, and

Indonesia is

being logged or transformed into plantation estates at

an alarming

rate. Illegal logging continues to plague forests in

Indonesia and

Thailand. Orangutan and gibbon infants are still being

sold illegally

in back alley marketplaces in Indonesia. Fewer than

7,000 Sumatran

orangutans remain in the fragmented forests in

northern Sumatra.

 

While International Orangutan Awareness Week will

continue to be held

this year to inform the public about the plight of the

orangutan

(November 6-12, 2005 & November 13-19, 2005 in

Indonesia),

organizations are invited to help expand the scope of

public

awareness raising for all apes, great and small,

during the entire

month of November. Organizations that promote

conservation of

chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, gibbon and siamang should

consider

holding outreach events during the month to strengthen

the concept

of Great Ape Awareness Month.

 

The Los Angeles Zoo is supporting this concept by

holding Ape

Awareness Day on November 5, 2005. Docents and

conservation

organizations will be educating visitors about the

plight of the

various species of great apes throughout the day. The

San Diego Zoo

will recognize Great Ape Awareness Week from Nov. 5 to

13 with

special enrichment activities for orangutans, gorillas

and bonobos,

and keeper talks, and education displays at their

exhibits to

educate visitors about the plight of apes. Other

zoological

institutions are encouraged to plan similar events

regarding the

apes that they house.

 

IOAW-10 Coordinator and Orang Utan Republik Education

Initiative

Chairman, Dr. Gary Shapiro stated that, " Zoological

institutions

have a particular responsibility to highlight the

special

relationship we share with the great apes as well as

educate the

public about the current conservation status of all

the species. In

this way, zoos can provide a meaningful service to the

cause of in-

situ ape conservation. "

 

Joining forces with other organizations will be

essential to make a

major impact on the individuals and communities that

are directly

affecting the survival of the apes. Shapiro added, " We

must act now

and in unison to change the hearts and minds of world

community

while there still is time. The goal must be nothing

short of

maintaining the viability of wild populations in

perpetuity. "

 

Whether it is for a day, a week or a month,

organizations and

individuals are invited to participate to support the

efforts to

raise awareness locally and internationally. Other

activities

involving the community are also encouraged such as

poster displays,

information vending at an appropriate venue, and

lectures to groups.

A website listing other ideas can be found at

www.ioaw.org.

 

For more information contact:

Gary Shapiro

Orang Utan Republik Education Initiative

gary

 

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Orang Utan Republik Education Initiative is a project

of

Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE) a

registered 501©(3)

public charity

 

 

 

 

 

 

Michelle Desilets

BOS UK

www.savetheorangutan.org.uk

www.savetheorangutan.info

" Primates Helping Primates "

 

Please sign our petition to rescue over 100 smuggled orangutans in Thailand:

http://www.thePetitionSite.com/takeaction/822035733

 

 

 

 

 

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