"Only if we understand can we care. Only if we care will we help. Only if we help shall they be saved." -Jane Goodall

This is the original in conté, which I did for a project to promote Bushmeat Awareness. The poster version and information on Bushmeat is here: [link]

Gorillas are on now the brink of extinction.
They are being hunted out of existence, and their slowly reproducing wild populations stand little chance of revival. In 15 years, gorillas, as well as chimpanzees and forest elephants, may possibly be extinct.
Very few people are aware of this.

The Great Apes are the mirror to our past, and they are one of the few links we hold to understanding our own nature as humans. Not only do they hold value in providing knowledge of ourselves, but they hold intrinsic value as living, emotional, sentient beings that deserve to live free of this slaughter and exploitation.
They deserve dignity and amnesty from harm.
They are too precious to lose,
but soon there may be no turning back.

This may be one of the last portraits of some of the greatest beings we never truly knew.






For Information on:
The Bushmeat Crisis: [link]
Coltan and the DRC: [link]
Cell Phone Recycling: [link]
The Toronto Zoo and Affiliates: [link]


PLEASE RECYCLE YOUR OLD CELL PHONES, AND HELP ENSURE THEIR FUTURE.

Vanessa, your work with gorillas has always inspired and fascinated me-
I know that no one else appreciates and understands gorillas more than you do.
You have always been more Jane Goodall than Jane Goodall is herself. This one is for you.