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Woman's video diary of critically endangered mountain gorillas she is helping save

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An animal rights campaigner has released her video and picture diary - meeting the critically endangered mountain gorillas she is helping to save. Juliet Gellatley, founder of Viva!, travelled to Uganda to give money and aid to the local communities working directly on the ground who provide our 'last hope' for protecting the species. The iconic mountain gorilla, one of our closest primate relatives of which we share 98 per cent of our DNA, has a remaining population of just 1,063. Uganda is home to half of the mountain gorillas left on the planet. The Bristol-based vegan charity is collaborating with its sister group, Viva! Uganda that Juliet also founded; as well as HUGO (Human & Gorilla Conflict Resolution teams) and the Ugandan Wildlife Authority to supply much-needed equipment to the volunteers who protect these mountain gorillas in Bwindi National Park. Beautiful images show the gorillas and their families in their natural habitat, with Juliet just metres away. Juliet said: "Seeing these magnificent ape relatives up close, how they interact, how they care for their family, the way they call out danger to each other, groom each other and work and play together, was beautiful. "They were obviously intelligent and caring, always acting with nature, not against it, aware of their place within the mountains. "Yet as I stood amongst them, I couldn’t help but feel the suffocating weight of their predicament. "While they try their hardest to live in harmony, to avoid poachers and to live in peace with their family, they can’t. There are those who want to take their lives or destroy their home." Viva!’s Gorilla Defenders are helping to support the vital training of 146 HUGO volunteers in gorilla behaviour, tracking and containment - keeping them securely within the forest areas they can protect to ensure the gorillas are not exposed to local poachers or other human-wildlife conflict. The HUGO volunteers are also trained in monitoring the health of the gorillas, looking for signs of sickness and to collect faecal samples for testing. Viva! Uganda is providing much-needed equipment to the volunteers such as insulating jackets, rain-proof trousers and coats, surgical gloves, walkie talkies, field equipment, field cameras, preventative materials, camping tents, gumboots and notebooks. Juliet said: "Until recently the volunteers have been trekking in worn down boots and coats, lacking walkie talkies while having to brave the wilderness with little protection due to a lack of tents to stay in when tracking prevents them from going home. "It's a huge amount of pressure - this is a precious area of forest that supports thousands of species and it's vital we protect the people who are protecting the gorillas. "The positive byproduct of saving the mountain gorillas is also saving all the other species who live there too." The renowned animal rights campaigner has explained it is poachers, illegal logging, and agricultural development for crops or farmed animals that has been driving mountain gorillas to the brink - reducing their gene pool and threatening their chance of survival. Juliet explained: "Mountain gorillas are found in only two of Uganda’s national parks, with rangers underequipped to protect them from locals who set snares and traps for other wildlife. "It goes hand in hand with the illegal logging trade, which decreases their natural habitat, as does grazing cattle. "This ties into a global picture whereby countless animals are at risk of extinction due to habitat loss. "And the main cause of habitat loss is animal agriculture. "The suffering of farmed animals is directly linked to the suffering of wildlife." This collaborative project is managed on the ground by Viva! staff who ensure that the equipment arrives on time and that everything goes where it is needed - with every piece of equipment 'making the HUGO volunteers jobs easier'. On top of supplying equipment, Viva! Uganda and HUGO will be running an informative campaign in local dialects around Bwindi National Park to ensure that local communities support the protection of the beloved mountain gorillas. To donate you can visit: https://viva.org.uk/appeals/gorilla-defenders/

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