Gorilla beringei graueri

i've mentioned this already to some people, but i probably didn't explain it all that well.. so here:

this year is actually the year of the gorilla (not chinese horoscopes, but to raise awareness etc etc)
and everywhere around the world, especially zoos and foundations like dian fossey gorilla fund and jane goodal institute (who are usually concerned with chimps, but also taking this project on), are telling people how nearly everyone of us is causing the gorillas to die out.

the story is, in every single mobile phone (literally. unless you buy one that has been recycled and replaced) there is a capacitor -to hold the electricity- that is made from a mineral called "columbite-tantalite", or more commonly known as "coltan". The major source of this mineral is in Congo - where gorilla habitats are.

Sure, there are some in other countries like Australia, where there aren't any gorillas, but because there is just so many, and most importantly: so cheap (child labour, black market, africa), companies are not buying the legitimate, legal coltan.
Yep, every single mineral mined is ILLEGAL. because once it's sold into the main, legal market, it can't be traced, so the mining continues on. Also, most of it is done by peasants, school children, and farmers (probably. most likely. not getting paid) who turn to the mines because the demand for coltan in the developed world is so great. and so, people are focusing on this mining instead of farming/cultivating food which is what's actually needed by the SIXTY MILLION PEOPLE who live in Congo.
and again, since every single mobile phone contains the mineral, ( and also laptops, pagers, cameras, printers, other electronics -though i'm not sure whether it is in every single one like with the phones), after the coltan extracted, it's refined by companies such as H.C. Starck & Cabot and sold to capacitor manufacturers such as Hitachi, Dell, Ericsson, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Motorola, Nokia, NEC, and Vishay. Companies which we regard as doing great things for the world, but are not telling people about this, really, under-publicised issue.
(the dian fossey people also mentioned that they don't have the right contacts to approach these companies - bosses etc. so if for some weird luck someone reading this happens to know somebody... please pass on their number :D)

Finally, to the point:
the gorilla habitat is destroyed because of the actual excavation process and road constructions. The gorillas displaced are then exploited for bush meat or poaching. Because these mines are so far away from the main cities, there're also no food to buy. so the gorillas become the food. seriously, wth is this.

And what's really distressing:
there are only 3000 Eastern Lowland Gorillas left IN THE ENTIRE WORLD/PLANET/EARTH! 3000! that's only 30 uni lecture theatres each fitting 100 people. 3000! it's really seriously unbelievable. this subspecies is the ones who are affected by the illegal coltan mining. and this NINETY PERCENT demolition of the population only took FIVE YEARS.

What is realised that everyone can do:
recycle old mobile phones so that the coltan can be taken out, and replaced by another material (there is an alternative - it's obviously more expensive. since coltan is CHEAP!) and then the phone is sold again as a cheaper recycled phone (eg. to people in third-world countries.)
i know most people probably have a pile of old, outdated phones hidden away in a pile somewhere. so this is also a way of putting it to use, instead of letting it collect dust. any reason anyone want to use is fine. the gorillas will be smiling anyhow.

i'm not sure of one international address where you can send your old phones to, but from what i can tell with the help of google, all the zoos around the world are taking part in this project. and i know for taronga, the mail is reply-paid, so u don't even have to pay anything to send your old phones.
so... type something like "gorilla phone recycle" and the closest zoo near your place should pop up and u can send it to them. or you can go to the dian fossey or jane goodal site as well.

for ppl here in australia (actually, all i know is for sydney): taronga zoo site.

here's a brochure that you can print if you want to let other people know (via rapidshare):
page1 page2
(leave a comment if rapidshare's deleted it & i'll email it to you)


yes. thank you for reading
please spread news about this, and help :)



(photos from ARKive, wikipedia.)



(i've not forgotten about the orangutans. in the meantime: use as little palm oil products as you can. which means giving up those korean onion-FLAVOURED rings)