Gorilla Haven - More than just a Gorilla Hotel !

            by Jane Dewar, 31 January 2003

GORILLA HAVEN:  Mission Statement:  To help make every captive gorilla's life as enriched and natural as possible through husbandry and research and to promote education about gorilla conservation in zoos and the wild.

As we’ve gone through inspections by various agencies earlier this month, we’ve been asked some questions which surprised us.  There are many misconceptions about just what Gorilla Haven is all about and we realize this is partially due to the fact that we have never publicly discussed the variety of conservation projects and initiatives we’re involved in.  It is, after all, our own hard-earned money we’re spending, and frankly I never thought it was anyone else’s business or concern.  But I’ve been persuaded that blowing our own horn is not a bad thing, but rather, possibly a good thing, if it inspires others to do more, and if it illustrates our commitment to conservation goes way beyond helping a few gorillas.  So here goes.

 Our mission statement has three major components:

1. Helping captive gorillas – that’s the facility known as Gorilla Haven we’re building on our 324 acres here in North Georgia.
2. Education/Research – that would be our award-winning website, as well as our talks and presentation to neighborhood and/or school groups, when asked.  Designed to be an informal but informative resource for news and information on the GH project as well as individual gorillas around the world, www.gorilla-haven.org reaches approximately 10 to 20 thousand people a month.  Emails from hundreds of enthusiasts are answered promptly and personally, helping inspire support for gorillas and indeed all conservation efforts worldwide.  The website tries to increase awareness of the bushmeat crisis and other conservation issues, as well as offering hope and ideas for the general public on how they can help and participate in finding solutions. Furthermore, with gorillas in residence, we’ll work closely with the Zoo world to conduct non-invasive, unobtrusive observational research on the gorillas, to find ways of enriching and improving their lives in captivity (ie: husbandry).
3. Conservation.  Many organizations “talk” about conservation, but it’s more lip-service than real, effective results.  If we don’t work to save the habitat and eco-systems that gorillas live in, saving individuals won’t much matter in the long run.  So it’s a two-sided coin, with habitat preservation on one side and the individual animals (at sanctuaries) on the other side.  TOGETHER we must work to find a solution, but instead there are many who pit one side against the other, in the struggle for donations.

Anyone familiar with our website, knows that the Limbe Wildlife Centre (LWC) in Cameroon is our “adopted” sanctuary in Africa, and we maintain close contact with the staff there, providing material and monetary as well as moral support and encouragement, with personal visits every other year.  While the LWC is our primary in situ project, as members of PASA, (Pan African Sanctuary Alliance) we maintain and encourage contacts with and support sanctuaries and research projects throughout Africa and the world.

We also now publish and underwrite the expenses for the creation of the Gorilla Gazette, a journal for professionals who study or provide care for gorillas.

The following is partial list of projects, organizations and efforts supported by Gorilla Haven, the Dewar Wildlife Trust and/or Steuart and Jane Dewar, personally.  For the most part, we know the principal players in these organizations and make sure our support – sometimes financial, sometimes otherwise – is maximized.  This list is in no way complete, but it's a start, to give you an idea of the far-reaching projects we are privileged to support.

We receive unsolicited donations each year, and 100% of any and all such donations go to support one of these projects, unless the donation is ear-marked for a specific project.

 Listed in no particular order!

• KEEP – Kakamega Environmental Education Program, Kenya  Helping humans. Funds for the education center came easily, but no one wanted to send funds for a toilet, so we stepped up to the plate and donated funds for a latrine – the Dewar Dump? For more information, see
• Project Primate, Inc. Guinea and Cameroon (chimpanzee sanctuary)
• JGI Uganda – Entebbe Zoo (chimps, monkeys) After a visit in 1995, we spear-headed a drive to provide the Entebbe Zoo’s first uniforms for their keepers.
• Cercopan, Nigeria (monkey sanctuary).  We donated funds to build a much needed new enclosure when rescues of bushmeat orphan monkeys had existing facilities overflowing.
• Chimfunshi, Zambia (chimpanzee sanctuary)
• Partners in Conservation (PIC) (USA and Rwanda) A terrific education program run by our friends at the Columbus Zoo.
• Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (UK) (gorillas)
• Care for the Wild (animals in general, UK)
• Pals of Pasika (mountain gorilla - a special project of Care of the Wild)
• Pandrillus, Nigeria (chimps, drills, monkey sanctuary)
• Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund (CWAF) (Cameroon primates, in a zoo and field site setting)
• Tropenbos Gorilla Project Cameroon Land use project to find ways of working with locals, loggers and habitat protection/preservation.
• African Wildlife Foundation
• H.E.L.P. Congo Habitat Ecologique el Liberté des Primates  (chimps)
• Berggorilla & Regendwald Direkthilfe (BRD) (Mountain Gorillas)
• Primarily Primates (USA Sanctuary)
• Center for Great Apes (formerly: Center for Chimpanzee and Orangutan Conservation (USA Sanctuary)  Like us, the founder of this wonderful Sanctuary, Patti Ragan, gave up her own personal wealth to dedicate her life to helping the wonderful chimpanzee and orangutan victims of Hollywood, the pet trade, etc.
• Chimp Haven (USA Sanctuary) GH put the principals of Chimp Haven in touch with the people of Shrevesport, LA who eventually donated Chimp Haven’s land!
• Jane Goodall International (chimps)
• “Think Tank” at National Zoo, Washington D.C.  A wonderful on-going study of ape intelligence.
• Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (USA) ( gorillas)
• ProFauna Indonesia (KSBK) (monkeys, primates of Asia) We provided funds for airfare so members from Indonesia could attend a CITES conference
• Tacugama, Sierra Leone (chimps) We sponsored the sanctuary director to come to the USA to attend a conservation conference and have helped with airfares for staff to help….
• IPPL (primates in general)
• Morris Animal Foundation (animals, veterinary care)
• Bushmeat Crisis Task Force –  help awareness raising in Cameroon
• Friends of the Lukuru (Congo, DRC) (bonobo)  Our website’s “Crisis in the Congo” page helped raise much needed funds for this rescue mission, and recently we've supported their education outreach program.
• Kentucky Primate Center (chimps, monkeys)
• Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA).  Steuart is on the Advisory Board and we’ve donated funds for French translations of materials, since so many sanctuaries are in French speaking Africa, yet most support comes from English speaking countries.
•  Limbe Wildlife Centre, Cameroon (gorillas, chimps, drills, monkeys)
• Debbie McGuire Gorilla Keeper Grant A $1,000 grant awarded annually to gorilla keepers.
• Miscellaneous Grants – we’ve given money for individuals to travel to/from Africa where they help sanctuaries; provided funds for a graduate research project in Boston; donated laptop computers and countless cameras, computer supplies and miscellaneous to African wildlife students and professionals (Rwanda, Uganda); helped a Rwandan PhD student get to an important conference in China, etc.

Annual Zoo and Related Memberships and/or Participation to Support Conservation Efforts