Today's launch of a new publication on gorillas will support the survival of gorilla populations and mark the Year of the Gorilla 2009. “Gorillas - the Gentle Giants” by Martin Harvey, a wildlife photographer, and Letitia Farris-Toussaint, conservation writer, will support the educational objective of the Year of the Gorilla to raise awareness of these amazing creatures and the threats they face. Ian Redmond OBE, Ambassador of the Year of the Gorilla, has lent his scientific expertise to review the book.

Evans Mitchell Books, the publisher, will donate part of the profits to YoG projects. The funds will be used to help fund expert-selected, high-priority projects to protect gorillas and their habitats. Robert Hepworth, CMS Executive Secretary said: “This nature book pursues a twofold aim: It allows us to access the mysterious world of these awe-inspiring giants of the forests that so desperately need our help. At the same time, this book will help us to support projects under the UN Year of the Gorilla to save the remaining populations of these great apes.”

”Gorillas the Gentle Giants” is a stunning hard-back book, with 132 pages of amazing photography and fascinating text. The authors use beautiful and close up photography, alongside informative text, to take us through the history, features and habits of these amazing animals. They also discuss their fight for survival, faced with the problems of poaching, disease, deforestation, and the effect of armed conflict.

Senior scientist and Ambassador of the Year of the Gorilla Ian Redmond said: “If we don’t take immediate action, gorillas will become extinct within the next decades. Due to their key role in their forest ecosystem, we depend on them to safeguard the African rainforests, one of the key pillars keeping the world’s climate in balance. The Year of the Gorilla has enhanced cooperation among the United Nations, governments and conservation bodies to save one of our closest relatives. This book illustrates their ecological importance as well as their unique beauty.”

“Gorillas the Gentle Giants” will be available from 5th March 2009 at all good book stores priced £14.99, or from the publisher’s website www.embooks.co.uk

The full Press Release in English

The full Press Release in German

The Publisher's Press Release