Project Gorille Fernan-Vaz (PGFV) was informally established in 2001 to relocate 4 western lowland gorillas to the Fernan-Vaz lagoon after living for decades in a medical research facility in Franceville, Gabon. The Loango coastal forest region of southwestern Gabon is recognised as one of the most important and spectacular tropical ecosystems remaining in the world. From 2006, in full collaboration with local and national wildlife authorities, they began to legally confiscate and rescue orphaned gorillas from the bush meat trade for rehabilitation and eventual release back into the wild. They became members of PASA (Pan African Sanctuary Alliance) in 2011, verified by GFAS (Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries) in 2012 and formally registered as a national NGO in 2014.

In late 2020, two female gorillas Niout and Maya (an infant and a subadult) were rescued from a private owner in Libreville, Gabon. They were transferred to PGFV’s quarantine facility on Evengue-Ezango Island. After undergoing three health checks to ensure that they are exempt of disease, they are now waiting to be integrated with a group of 9 other orphaned gorillas currently foraging freely on a separate Island (Oriquet Island). This group is being considered for possible reintroduction back into the wilds of a national park within Gabon pending the identification of an appropriate release site. Studies the National Parks Agency, the Ministry of Environment and the National Ecological Research Institute will begin in February 2023.

Before orphans Niout and Maya can join the group of 9, PGFV needs to build a special integration enclosure on the island that will allow them – and rescued gorillas in the future – to stay within the safety of this enclosure while they get to know their future family.  Once they are all comfortable with each other, caregivers will open the doors and they will be free to embark on the first stage of their journey back to the wild.

In October 2022, OAT awarded a significant grant to PGFV to enable them to start building the pre-release / integration enclosure and we are looking forward to seeing Maya and Niout roaming freely with their new found family during the early part of 2023. 

Gorillas have been on a downward trajectory, sadly, for decades. Hunted as trophies or as wild meat, sold to sketchy animal encounters or private collections, their numbers are dwindling to the point where they are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Redlist. OAT is incredibly proud to be supporting it’s first project dedicated to the welfare and protection of this iconic species.