Since most of us can't make it to the jungles of Keep your eyes open because on October 22, 2005, there will be hundreds of mountain gorillas running through the streets of downtown Denver. The Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund is hosting the 2nd Annual Denver Gorilla Run and all participants, volunteers and supporters are helping to keep Dian Fossey's dream alive! Remember the movie "Gorillas in the Mist"?
In 1985, Dian Fossey was murdered. The Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund (MGCF) took the initiative to keep her dream alive, when MGCF took over the project there were only 248 Mountain Gorillas left in the world. Because of the projects that MGCF oversees there are now 723 in the countries on Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A Mountain Gorilla can only be seen in Africa, these animals can not survive in captivity therefore they'll never be seen in zoos.
Mountain Gorillas are one of our closest relatives, sharing 98.6% of our nuclear DNA. This makes them the closest link to mankind and as a group we are trying to help and keep these animals from extinction. MGCF introduced veterinary medicine back in 1986 with a project called Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project. The local governments are convinced that this project saved the gorillas from extinction during the war in the mid-90's.
MGCF needs to expand its veterinary program by educating local Ugandans and Rwandans to become veterinarians. The current facility, Makerere University, has outgrown itself and we need more room to further the education of locals to first, protect the Mountain Gorilla, then expand to other wildlife in Uganda and Rwanda. MGCF needs support in raising funds to build a new expansion to its veterinary school. MGCF is seeking a target of $150,000 to build a new lecture hall tripling the capacity of students. This expansion will provide a new lecture hall and a wildlife museum to conserve gorilla remains for future studying. MGCF was the first in the world to ever build an "on-location" vet center in 1986 for the protection of endangered animals. Since then, 20 expatriate veterinarians have served in the countries and now locals have been educated enough to take over and protect their own wildlife. This is a great thing for central Africa!
Returning sponsor, SixFlagsElitchGardens, will be hosting the start and finish line for this year’s event. Each participant will receive a full gorilla suit, just in time for Halloween! Each participant in the 5.6K fun run/walk will be representing a real live group of gorillas that live in Uganda or Rwanda, Africa. For more information about the event, please go to www.denvergorillarun.com or contact MGCF at 720-244-9938.
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The Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund is dedicated to the conservation and protection of the highly endangered Mountain Gorillas in Africa, the preservation of their habitat, and working with the people around the National Parks.