30 January 2000
Happy Millennium! It's hard to imagine it's been almost 2 months since our last update. The holidays came and went quietly. We're surviving a rather rainy and sometimes icy winter, which is hampering the construction of the first official GH building - the maintenance building - a bit, but otherwise we're continuing what seems to be a never-ending process of projects from fencing to grading to designing.
There's not much to report here, although we're adding to the Silverback Award page (see Kids' Section) and to the Limbe pages (Nyango update!), so check them out.
The biggest news concerns our beloved Willie B. - Atlanta's favorite silverback…. He's suffering from pneumonia and heart disease and for weeks everyone has been praying and sending him healing vibes, in hopes he'll recover quickly. At 41 years old, Willie B is an "old man" gorilla, but still, he's getting loving care from everyone at Zoo Atlanta, including his keeper, our friend Charles Horton, who's known Willie for 25 years - half of his own life. Check out our tribute to Willie B - the first recipient of the Silverback Award (Kids' section) and send him your good thoughts and love for a speedy recovery. [Ed: Sadly Willie B. passed away just a few days later].
As always, thank you to all who email us. Your encouragement and kind words mean a great deal and are always deeply appreciated.