Run for the Wild, Gorillas at Bronx Zoo
NEW YORK -- More than five thousand people made tracks for gorillas in the 2015 Wildlife Conservation Society Run for the Wild at the Bronx Zoo! This year's 5K run/walk took place on Saturday, April 25th, and will make a real difference in the lives of animals both here and around the planet.
Founded in 1895, the WCS's mission is to save wildlife and wild places. Places like Ntokou-Pikounda National park. Covering over 1,700 square miles in the Republic of Congo, the park is a key stronghold for western lowland gorillas. It was created only a few years ago, to protect more than 125,000 gorillas WCS researchers found living in the area. It's a good thing, too: Just outside the park, forests are being ripped to the ground for palm oil. Without the reserve, many of the animals currently protected would be in peril.
In other places, gorillas are not so lucky. Intense pressure from mining, development and logging is squeezing them out.
That's why so many ran and walked here in New York this April, to join WCS in their quest to help secure safe places for some of our closest relatives in the wild.
