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FWS Narrator: Have you ever seen orangutans, gibbons, or gorillas at the zoo and thought:
what if I could live in the trees, swinging from a vine, tightrope walking branch to branch,
nearly flying through the canopy? Narr: Well, now you can!
Narr: Go Ape is a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service partner that runs a treetop adventure
course, encouraging participants 10 and up to find their "inner ape" in Rockville, Marylandā
Rock Creek Regional Park. Narr: Safety first, but pretty soon they're
up in the trees! Did you know, an orangutan weighs about one and a half times as much
as a human, but they can stay aloft using only their fingertips! ÉI think it's
better if we stick with the harnesses... Narr: So why, Go Apeā and the Fish and
Wildlife Service? It's all about the Service's Wildlife Without Borders program and our Great
Ape Conservation Fund, which supports on the ground conservation for apes in Asia and Africa.
FWS Dirck Byler: Great apes are our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom. They
are comprised of several different species. We have gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos
in Africa. And then in Asia, we also have orangutans. And then there's a lesser ape
species called the gibbon. Of those there's more than 14 or 15 species.
FWS Byler: Great apes are in danger of extinction in many different places around the world.
Specifically gorilla populations in certain areas such as the mountain gorillas have only
700 remaining. There's another subspecies called the Cross River gorilla which has only
300 remaining. Some of the threats to them include logging
and mining, also illegal bushmeat and hunting and in some cases even the pet trade.
And Go Ape wants to help! They're partnering with us to raise awareness and support. If
you booked with the coupon code Great Ape Go Ape donated $10 to the Great Ape Conservation
Fund. Laura Favin, Deputy Manager, Go Ape
That is definitely one of the values of Go Ape--conservation and being environmentally-friendly.
It just seemed like a good fit pretty natural Go Ape and great ape conservation.
Our goal is to get people outdoors, and acting like an ape. And while we're doing that,
we might as well teach everyone how they can help prevent extinction of the great apes.
FWS Byler: Public-private partnerships like the one we're doing here with Go Ape
are essential because we need to reach more of the American public. And let them know
about the excellent work that being done both in Africa and Asia to conserve great ape species.
So, public-private partnerships help us leverage our expertise and magnify the impact that
we're having with a small amount of public funding to maximize the impact on both great
ape conservation in Africa and Asia, but also awareness of what we're doing here in the
United States as well. While learning what it's like to BE an ape,
participants also learn about endangered wild apes and how they can make a difference for
conservation. Keith Ruddy, Instructor, Go Ape It's
a great social environment. I love to see our families get out and get to spend the
day together. They get to come here, swing through the trees. Yell, scream, be happy,
laugh, and have a great time. For a lot of people, it's a total transformation.
Favin, Go Ape: Everyone's welcome at Go Ape We encourage you to come out,
see the course, walk around the trails at the park here, and just have fun outside.
You can learn more about Go Ape's partnership with the Fish & Wildlife Service and great
ape conservation by checking out these websites. For the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, I'm
Kayt Jonsson.