Uganda offers Facebook scheme to 'befriend' gorillas
 
 
September 1, 2009


An infant mountain gorilla sits in the dense jungle canopy on the edge 
of Uganda's Bwindi National Park in this 29, January 2007 photo.
 
An infant mountain gorilla sits in the dense jungle canopy on the edge 
of Uganda's Bwindi National Park in this 29, January 2007 photo.
Photograph by: Stuart Price,

KAMPALA – Users of the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter 
will be able to "befriend" rare Ugandan mountain gorillas and track 
their movements, a Wildlife Authority spokeswoman said Monday.

In a scheme designed to promote Uganda?s nascent tourism industry, 
users will receive regular updates about their endangered primate 
friends, Lillian Nsubuga told AFP.

"Through geo-tracking and GPS, you?ll be able to get information about 
new births within the family and other information," she said, 
referring to a programme that will launch online next month.

Wildlife officials also plan to install cameras around Uganda?s Bwindi 
Impenetrable Forest, home to roughly half of the world?s estimated 740 
mountain gorillas, one of most endangered species on the planet.

Online users will be able to watch live footage of their "friends" 
eating and trekking through the thick terrain.

Mountain gorillas, who were famously brought to the world's attention 
by the late Dian Fossey, are one of Uganda's main tourist attractions 
and can only be found in two other countries, Rwanda and the Democratic 
Republic of Congo.