Saratoga News

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Photograph courtesy of Bill Cleary

Saratoga's Bill Cleary (above, left) is a member of Wildlife Direct's board of directors and is doing his best to help through the creation of an Internet site. Cleary also traveled to Africa to get a first-hand look at the situation, where armed rangers battle poachers and rebels.

Saving Gorillas

Wildlife Direct works to save gorillas, support rangers

By Shannon Burkey

Bill Cleary's life in Saratoga is a long way from the Congo, but when he heard about the plight of Africa's mountain gorillas and the rangers who try to protect them, the Silicon Valley executive knew he had to help.

So when Cleary's longtime friend Richard Leakey, a world-renowned paleoanthropologist and African wildlife conservationist, decided to start Wildlife Direct, Cleary quickly became involved and joined the board of directors.

Leakey founded the organization as a way to support gorilla conservationists on the ground in Africa, but he wanted it to be different from other organizations of its type by spreading the world globally and getting people to donate money directly to the people fighting the cause.

That's where Cleary and his knowledge of technology came in.

"Leakey said that when people heard what was going on, invariably they would ask him how they could help, but there is no access to the average person," Cleary said. "He asked if there was anything we could do with the Internet where ordinary people could contribute."

Cleary knew he could build a site that could inform people around the world about the endangered mountain gorillas.

"Wildlife Direct constitutes the cutting edge of the conservation movement. Our people on the ground in the Congo are risking their lives to protect these beautiful animals," Cleary said.

There are only 700 mountain gorillas in the world today, and they are found in only two places--Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda. In the Congo, which is home to 380 of the gorillas, they are slowly being picked off by poachers and rebels left over from the country's civil war, which ended in 2003 and claimed nearly 4 million lives.

Each day, the rangers working in Virunga National Park risk their lives to keep the gorillas safe from predators. In the last 10 years, 97 rangers have been killed protecting these animals. They often work for little or no money because the government can't afford to pay them, and they are often in posts that don't even have the basic supplies to allow them to do their jobs.

It's people such as these that Leakey and Cleary sought to help through Wildlifedirect.org.

"They are literally fighting wildlife wars," Cleary said. "They are usually just given a gun and sent out there alone, but they do it because they are passionate about it."

Through the website that contains blogs and video from the rangers on the ground, Cleary said they hope to build a community, disseminate the word and raise money to help the conservationists working in Virunga.

"It's real simple. We're not trying to raise millions from top donors," Cleary said. "We're trying to raise $10 for a pair of shoes for the rangers. It's the little things that are making a difference. We know we can't save the world, but we can do little things in bits and pieces. When you give these guys batteries, they are so happy because now they can patrol at night."

Visitors to the website can choose from a number of blogs from rangers in the field on several different topics and watch video depicting the rangers' work or the gorillas in their natural habitat. Visitors can also donate money earmarked for specific items such as a daily patrol ration of food for five rangers for $15, boots for $35 or a housing supplement for $50. The list of needs is long, and 100 percent of the money donated goes toward what the donor requests.

Paulin Ngobobo, a senior warden in the Southern Section of Virunga, writes one of the site's most popular blogs and posts photos of his daily excursions. In a blog posted on March 14, Ngobobo thanked readers for their many donations and gave an update of the current situation.

"It has indeed been a tumultuous time. Rebels invaded and looted patrol posts in the Mikeno Sector of the park in late December, forcing rangers to flee. Two Silverbacks were killed in cold blood in January. We negotiated a truce with the rebels who agreed to stop killing the gorillas. And now we are setting up Camp Karema [in honor of the silverback that was killed] in the very place that was occupied by rebels less than two months ago. Certainly a whirlwind by any standards. And throughout this I have felt supported by all your comments and words of encouragement," Ngobobo wrote.

It's blogs such as Ngobobo's and his fellow rangers that Cleary knew would really help to make a difference in the fight to protect the mountain gorillas.

So far, it really is working.

One month after the site launched, $20,000 was raised, more than 600 comments and messages from the public were received and approximately 300 articles were written in the international media about the Wildlife Direct's endeavors.

Today, nearly three months after its launch, close to $60,000 has been raised through the site.

And though Cleary said he is not surprised by the success because he knows the Internet is powerful, he is surprised by the speed in which it is catching on.

"Wildlife Direct has an impact because there is a buildup of thousands and thousands of participants that want to know more," Cleary said. "It's amazing we have this opportunity to transform things so radically in such a fundamental way. Everybody is thrilled and optimistic, and it's bringing us into this incredible global village."

In addition to the funds being raised, the organization has accomplished something even bigger. It has managed to get the Congolese militia, a rebel group responsible for the killing and dismembering of two silverback gorillas in January, to agree to stop hunting the animals.

After the killings, Wildlife Direct issued press releases to media outlets around the world and hundreds of stories were written about the senseless killings. All of the negative publicity caused Gen. Laurent Nkunda, the rebel group's leader, to agree to help protect the gorillas.

"You can already see the political ramifications we're having," Cleary said. "When there is no spotlight, people tend to do things they shouldn't do."

Cleary said he anticipates the impact of the site is going to be enormous in helping to protect the wildlife of Africa.

"With environmental problems we could lose wildlife even if we do everything right," he said. "But for the first time we can provide protection for these animals that their country can't do. It's a powerful idea and perfect for the Internet."

For more information on Wildlife Direct or to donate to the conservation efforts, visit www.wildlifedirect.org.