The Aspinall Foundation

A day out at Howletts Wild Animal Park is not complete without a visit to our western lowland gorilla family. Gentle giant Ebeki, the silverback, leads his group of four females; Dihi, Juma, Shumba and Emmie, plus young male Ikebe and hand-reared...

As part of our project to establish the presence of leopards and lions in the Lésio-Louna Reserve, Congo we have been able to position more camera traps throughout the protected area. The data collected is increasing our knowledge of the species...

Mayombe is continuing to grow in confidence on the island with Djongo, despite the season of heavy thunderstorms that is underway. 

Projects such as our gorilla protection projects in Gabon and Congo have already shown us that successful reintroductions are possible. As with Djongo, who has recently bonded with a young female who joined our programme in June 2019 from ZooParc de...

Thursday 26th September 2019

Over twenty years ago when The Aspinall Foundation first developed the Gorilla Protection Project, initially in Congo and then expanded into Gabon, the earliest gorillas to be released originated from orphanages and sanctuaries in the region. Over...

Back in 1987 The Aspinall Foundation signed an agreement with the Ministry of Forests of the Congo to begin its work to protect the western lowland gorilla.

Since The Aspinall Foundation reintroduced the first western lowland gorillas in Batéké Plateau National Park in 1998 we have now established five separate groups. Once hunted to extinction in this remote paradise of lush gallery forest and hilly...

by Matthieu Bonnet, Regional Director of the Gabon & Congo Gorilla Project

It is nearly six years since Djala and Djongo made the journey to Gabon. For Djala it was the chance to return to a life in the wild, a life that had been denied him many years ago. Djala’s story began in 1982, in the forests of the Congo basin...