The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) will launch an online gorilla-tracking website to promote tourism. The launch is scheduled for September 26th and will be supported by an impressive list of international celebrities. Through the friendagorilla.org website, a global audience will have a chance to befriend gorillas from any of Uganda's seven habituated groups. Gorilla lovers will then be able to track the gorillas online for a fee via GPS and in real time. Online trackers will also be able to add gorillas as friends on Internet social sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter.

"We will have cameras placed strategically in the forest and when you log on, you can see a gorilla moving through the forest from your screen," said Thomas Slater Jr, art director for the project. If it succeeds, the project will make ~$700,000 annually. The money will be used to hire more gorilla trackers and buy better equipment for the trackers, as well as to support conservation efforts through community projects, said Eunice Mahoro, tourism director at UWA.

A series of events will accompany the launch:
a) Official launch of the Nshongi family – This will take place in Kisoro and will involve tracking of the largest gorilla family ever habituated and a series of other community activities (22nd to 24th of September).
b) National Launch of the Friend a Gorilla campaign at Kololo Airstrip on Saturday, 26th September
c) Fundraising Gorilla Gala in the evening of the 26th with the highlight being the count-down to the unveiling of the Friendagorilla.org micro site.

YoG enthusiast Laurel Colton organized an outstanding outreach and fundraising event at LA Zoo, California, on the 29th and 30th of August. This event was just one in a whole series of events Laurel has put together over the last months, and there is still more to come. It is enthusiasts like Laurel who make this campaign so lively, together with the support of CMS, GRASP and WAZA partners.

Together with a group of volunteers (thanks, guys!), Laurel assembled four infotables with a variety of information materials and fun activities for both kids and adults. Two of the tables were gorilla biofact-related and two were more gorilla conservation-related. Docents from LA Zoo gave talks to visitors about gorillas, the YoG, and the LA Zoo's gorilla family group and bachelor group members throughout each day. The zoos enrichment team arranged for special icy treats (frozen tubcicles containing vegetables and fruits) to be given to gorillas to stimulate more activity in the heat of the day (and boy, was it hot!).

On Saturday, August 29th, Dr. Craig Stanford gave a lecture on gorilla biology and conservation, which was a great success, drawing in a crowd and helping raise 1300$ for gorilla conservation projects.