Wahoo – gorillas are finally getting the urgent high level conservation recognition that they both need and deserve – the UN has declared 2009 as the Year of the Gorilla.

“The Year of the Gorilla 2009 will place gorillas on a higher pedestal,” John Mshelbwala, UN Convention of Migratory Species expert, announced at an endangered species conference in Rome.

“The Year of the Gorilla is not just about gorillas but about their habitat,” said UN Environment Programme (UNEP) expert Ian Redmond, noting that the apes serve “as guardians of the forest (by) gardening the forest, pruning the trees and distributing the seeds through their droppings.”

Renowned primatologist Jane Goodall, patron of the initiative, said in a statement: “It is time for us to pool all of our resources toward saving these magnificent creatures (and toward) ensuring a future for this close cousin of humankind.”

The Gorilla Organization will be staging a number of special events to mark the Year of the Gorilla in addition to trying to make the Great Gorilla Run London 2009 the biggest and best ever.

Watch this space…

(Pictures – Adam Papier)