Project Protection des Gorilles – Congo

website: www.ppg-congo.org

primary species: Gorillas

volunteer program: None

year founded: 1988

director: Luc Mathot

primary supporters: John Aspinall Foundation, Government of Congo, public donations.

adoption progam: None

sanctuary history: Projet Protection des Gorilles (PPG) – Congo is a joint initiative of the Republic of Congo and The John Aspinall Foundation. Founded at the Zoological Park in Brazzaville in 1987, PPG-Congo was initially conceived as a orphanage for great apes that had been confiscated by the Ministry of Forest Economy and the Environment (MEFE). But in 1993, PPG-Congo began to focus on the reintroduction of gorillas back into the wild, along with the management and protection of vast tracts of forest in the Lesio-Louna and Lefini regions. Since 1987, PPG has taken care of 87 gorillas, all victims of the bushmeat and pet trades. Despite a difficult battle against sicknesses, depression and civil wars, the gorillas’ survival rate (27 percent) was still high. Sixteen of those gorillas have been reintroduced to the wild – producing five offspring – and their territory and behaviour are studied every day. The use of the area and the comportment similar compared to the wild gorillas prove the good adaptation of the reintroduced gorillas. To increase the female / male ratio of the released gorillas, five males were reintroduced on a 25-hectare island that was created for this goal.