Khaliah Ali, daughter of legendary boxing icon Muhammad Ali, is honoring the 35th anniversary of the historic "Rumble in the Jungle" bout between Ali and George Foreman by making a humanitarian visit this week to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

This marks the first time that an Ali family member has returned to Kinshasa, the city where one of sports most historic events occured, said a news statement about Ali's visit.

Photo by Jowan Gauthier

Khaliah Ali's visit to the Congo culminates tomorrow, October 30, at the Mai 20 Stadium, site of "Rumble in the Jungle," when world heavyweight champion George Foreman faced off against former world champion and challenger Muhammad Ali.

In what has since been regarded as one of the classic fights of history, Ali regained the title, defying the predictions of most pundits. "Rumble in the Jungle" continues to be re-aired several times a year on cable television.

"My father and the Congolese people share a remarkable bond born from an event that empowered a country and supported him as he reclaimed his heavyweight crown," Ali said in the statement. "I know that the spirit of the 60,000 people who witnessed the fight lives inside his heart to this day.

"It has been my dream to show my deep affection and gratitude to the Congolese people for the integral role they played in my own family's history."

"It has been my dream to show my deep affection and gratitude to the Congolese people for the integral role they played in my own family's history.

"Additionally, this trip offers an opportunity for me to become further involved in ongoing relief programs and to gain a fuller understanding of the progress underway in the western and southern regions and the tragedies that still exist in the east."

Photo by Jowan Gauthier

Social activist, author, and fashion designer, Khaliah Ali is engaged with numerous philanthropic activities, including serving as board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters International; on-air spokesperson for Youth at Risk; Advisory board member and spokesperson for Help USA; chairwoman for the Friends of The Statue of Liberty Foundation; director of development for the Urban Retrievers Program; youth entertainment consultant to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation; and senior staff member with the Job Core Program.

She is using her visit to the Congo to raise awareness fpr the efforts of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and otner humanitarian agencies serving the country.

Prior to her departure for the Congo, Ali prepared this statement about why she identifies with the people of the Congo and wants to help the country overcome its current challenges:

By Khaliah Ali

October 30 will mark 35 years since my father, Muhammad Ali, fought his first boxing match outside the U.S.--the "Rumble in the Jungle," which took place in the Congo.

The Congo was struggling--a young, impoverished country seeking identity on the world stage. My father was struggling too--his opponent was twice his size and younger than he was. A lot was riding on this fight.

But the iconic moment of that trip for him was not his win. It occurred perhaps the next morning, when after a thorough search, no one could find him to engage him in victory celebrations. Finally, he was located in a dusty village doing magic tricks for children.

He had intuitively grasped the bond. Here was a country that had just come out of unimaginable oppression in its successful bid for independence but had far to go.

Khaliah Ali (left) with Noella Coursaris Musunka, a Congolese fashion model who founded the Georges Malaika Foundation. Together they placed the first stone for a new girls' school in Katanga.

Photo by Jowan Gauthier

My father, a black man who had grown up in Louisville, Kentucky, was the embodiment of overcoming every obstacle imaginable, of the notion that you can get "here" from "there." His bringing attention to the Congo, and the plight of the Congolese, was their iconic moment--their own version of George Washington crossing the Delaware.

But the Congo is still crossing. The country is plagued by a horrific civil war in the east where tens of thousands of women are being raped. Rape is being used as a weapon of war, in fact, to damage the population in that region to the point that they won't reproduce.

Photo by Jowan Gauthier

I am too young to remember my father's trip. The day I was born, Father's Day 1974, he gave a press conference to talk about the fact that he would be going abroad in a few months.

But I am not too young to know that my father, who came of age during the Civil Rights era, knows the importance of never allowing anyone else to be devalued, of never accepting the status quo. That is why, with a mixture of pride and determination, I leave for the Congo to continue to help build the humanitarian bridge for which he laid the cornerstone so many years ago.

With Noella Coursaris Musunka, a Congolese fashion model who founded the Georges Malaika Foundation, I will lay the first stone for a new girls' school in Katanga. It's been proven that when girls go to school, a nation's GDP increases, and the rates of HIV infection dramatically decrease. Educated girls are not so easily forced into marriages with men who take many partners at once.

We will also visit a women's entrepreneurship college, where women are taught skills that will allow them to succeed in business, choose their own destinies, and help build a vibrant country. Without women, half of a nation's population, a country has no backbone.

Photo by Jowan Gauthier

We will be visiting programs benefited by UNICEF, The United Nations World Food Programme and other helping organizations.

I will also have the opportunity to speak to the students of The University of Lubumbashi and The University of Kinshasa and learn about the diverse needs of the Congolese people.

My father is no longer in the position to make such a trip easily. But I will be accompanied on this journey "back" by my 10-year-old son. To this young boy's grandfather, that's how it should be. Humanitarian efforts are supposed to stretch seamlessly not only from nation to nation but also from generation to generation.

Pictures from some of the world's leading nature and wildlife photographers were exhibited at London's Saatchi Gallery today.

For those of us who couldn't make it to the British capital, Conservation International shared some of the images from the exhibit, shown here. The places they represent are indeed remarkable.

On the Look Out: The peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) is believed to have the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom. Each is capable of depth perception and trinocular vision. This allows the peacock mantis to detect semi transparent prey, different coral patterns, and the shimmering scales of hungry barracudas. They also have very powerful claws, known to break the glass of aquariums.

Photo by Sterling Zumbrunn/Caption by CI

Beach Bum Chameleon: The panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) of Madagascar loves sunbathing and enjoys cockroaches. They change color for camouflage and to communicate. When carrying eggs, females turn dark brown or black with orange striping to tell males they aren't interested. When two males come into contact, they turn brighter colors to assert dominance. Often these battles end with the loser retreating, turning drab and dark.

Photo by Cristina Mittermeier/Caption by CI

The exhibition, entitled "Thrive!", and organized by CI and the BG Group, "aims not only to showcase examples of nature's beauty and fragility, but to underscore how human well being and the natural world are inextricably linked," CI said in a statement accompanying the photos.

Monkeys on the Move: The Northern muriqui (Brachyteles hypoxanthus) is a critically endangered resident of Brazil's Atlantic Forest. Less than one thousand remain. To help revive them and other unique species, CI helped create green corridors linking the remaining fragments of the Atlantic Forest, assuring animals have a wider home to roam.

Photo by Luciano Candisani/Caption by CI

The exhibition was opened by CI President Russell A. Mittermeier and BG Group Executive Vice President Charles Bland on Thursday.

"Mittermeier, one of the world's most famous conservationists, is a legendary field biologist who has discovered numerous new species of animals, and is a world authority on primates, amphibians and the wildlife of Madagascar, the Guianas and Brazil," CI's statement added.

No Blast Fishing: A community patrolman on his dugout canoe near the island of Batanta, Raja Ampat. Local communities, aware of the importance of reef habitats to their fisheries, have learned to patrol their waters to protect against cyanide and blast fishing.

Photo by Sterling Zumbrunn/Caption by CI

"We are at a critical time in the history of the planet. Over the next decade decisions are going to be made that will affect the lives of millions of people and the survival of thousands of plants and animals," Mittermeier said. "Conservation International's mission is to protect the world's ecosystems for the benefit of humanity. The partnership with BG Group allows us to use photography as a tool for conserving the incredible biodiversity and cultures featured in this exhibition."

A New Species Found Each Week: Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, has one of the most dense concentrations of marine life on Earth, with over 1,000 species of fish and 600 of coral. In one year, CI divers discovered more than 50 previously unknown species of shrimp, coral, and reef fish - an average rate of one per week. All this in an area about 1/10th the size of England.

Photo by Sterling Zumbrunn/Caption by CI

Charles Bland said: "At BG Group we understand that our business activity can have an impact upon the environment and we are committed to making a positive contribution to protecting the environment. Our alliance with CI supports this by helping to build awareness of the importance of our natural world."

Much Ado Below the Surface: 1,250 fish species and 600 hard corals; the greatest biodiversity concentration for a territory its size anywhere on earth. Wayag Lagoon in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, is one of several marine protected areas created thanks in part to CI's Rapid Assessment Program (RAP). These surveys quickly document uncharted habitats to help prioritize areas for protection.

Photo by Sterling Zumbrunn/Caption by CI

Brand New Frog?

This handsome, slender legged treefrog, while known to be a Osteocephalus, may be a new species. Discovered by CI scientists on a recent trip to Para, researchers are still trying to verify if it's ever been identified. With species going extinct every 20 minutes, many disappear without a trace. Since new animal finds have helped humans with everything from diffusing landmines to curing forms of cancer, no one knows what is lost to us when a species vanishes.

Photo by Luciano Candisani/Caption by CI

Said Cristina Mittermeier, Director of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP), and one of the photographers whose work is featured in the exhibit, "Conservation photography is a mixture of art, journalism and environmentalism. It mixes beauty and abstract images with profound social comment, and it provides motivation for those who often live in a world far removed from the people, places and wildlife that are featured in this stunning exhibition."

Gentle Giant:

Though capable of highly intimidating displays of power when threatened, the largest of the gorillas, Grauer's gorilla, is generally calm and non aggressive.. There are about 16,000 in the wild. All live in the Democratic Republic of Congo. War in the Congo has been a drain on tourism, a primary source of funding for the gorilla's protection.

Photo by John Martin/Caption by CI

More Fish Species Than Anywhere On Earth:

CI scientists have documented more than 1,200 species of fish in Raja Ampat, Indonesia, more than any other coral reef environment on the planet. Scientists also believe there are over 550 coral species, an astonishing 70 percent of the world's total.

What's it like to be a National Geographic explorer/filmmaker/scientist, hip-deep in a swamp in equatorial Africa, edging up to a family of grumpy lowland gorillas?

Photo courtesy Mireya Mayor

It's anything but comfortable. Sweat bees get in the eyes, tsetse flies bite, worms can burrow into the skin, and there's always the prospect of being charged by an elephant that thinks you're up to no good.

All these things have been endured by Mireya Mayor, who is working on a documentary about western lowland gorillas for the National Geographic Channel.

She is on her way to the eastern Congo to resume filming--but thanks to the wonders of digital technology we will be able to keep track of her whereabouts via the Mireya Tracker on her Web site and receive live updates from the field.

"The last time I was in close proximity to the gorillas," Mayor told me in a phone interview while she was boarding a plane en route to Africa earlier today, "a silverback ran up to me and gave me a swat. It's the ultimate experience one can have with a gorilla."

Photo courtesy Mireya Mayor

It's a good thing that Mayor gets a thrill from such wild encounters. Not many people would relish the arduous schlep into swampland only to be charged by a 350-pound gorilla at the destination. It's like a scene out of an Indiana Jones movie.

But this is all in a day's work for Mireya Mayor, who has been described by the New York Times as a female Indiana Jones.

The former Miami Dolphins cheerleader and model has a Ph.D. in anthropology and is one of the world's foremost experts on primates. Her work has taken her to some of the most forbidding places on the planet.

Mayor is an emerging explorer for the National Geographic Society and a National Geographic Television correspondent. Most recently she starred in the History Channel series "Expedition Africa: Stanley & Livingstone," as one of four explorers to retrace the nearly 1,000-mile trip through Africa of Henry Stanley and David Livingstone.

Mayor knows her primates. She is credited with the scientific co-discovery of the world's smallest primate, the mouse lemur, in Madagascar in 2002.

Primatologist Mireya Mayor holding a newly discovered mouse lemur.

NGS photo by Mark Thiessen

Now Mayor is going back to one of the remotest corners of Africa, deep into the Congo rain forest, where one of the world's largest primates, the lowland gorilla, has been observed behaving in fascinating ways.

Gorillas Mating Face-to-Face

"They're the same gorillas that were documented mating facing one another," Mayor reminded me. You can see pictures and read about this behavior in the National Geographic News story "Gorillas Photographed Mating Face-to-Face--A First." Though the behavior had been observed before in mountain gorillas, it had never before been seen in the lowland gorilla subspecies--and had never before been photographed in the wild.

The female in the photographs was also the first gorilla seen using a tool in the wild.

"And among these gorillas the males display some unusual splashing behavior to woo females," Mayor said.

It's gorilla behavior like this that Mayor and the National Geographic film crew are documenting. They will be trekking into Mbeli Bai, a swampy clearing in the Congo where at least a dozen gorilla families come to feed at a giant salad bar. The seasonal gathering of the clans is also an opportunity for males to find mates, and this is when they display some very interesting gorilla rituals.

"We still have so much to learn about them," Mayor said. "Unlike mountain gorillas, these lowland gorillas are not easily habituated to the presence of people. They have been hunted for centuries, so they are very wary. They hang around in places difficult for us to get into and we aren't able to get up very close to them."

I asked Mayor if there were a lot of snakes in the swamp. "I've seen them ... but I'm more on the look-out for elephants," she said. "They can run faster they we can when they charge, so I like to know where they are and what they're doing."

Bookmark Mireya Mayor's Web site for regular updates from her from the Congo. The documentary she is working on will air on the National Geographic Channel next year.

The Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit in New York's Bronx Zoo is home to 19 of the great apes and an assortment of other animals. It has also raised almost U.S. $11,000,000 for the conservation of Central Africa's Congo Basin rain forest and wildlife, the Wildlife Conservation Society, which manages the zoo, said today.

WCS photos of Bronx Zoo gorillas celebrating tenth anniversary of exhibit by Julie Larsen Maher

"With this one exhibit, you can truly see the extraordinary power of the Bronx Zoo," said Steven E. Sanderson, president and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society. "Through its ten-year history, the Congo Gorilla Forest has turned millions of our visitors into conservationists and has helped directly to fund the protection of wildlife and wild places."

Since it opened in 1999, seven million visitors have visited the exhibit, which allows zoo guests to donate their admission fees to WCS field conservation efforts in Central Africa. The donations have helped to create 18 national parks in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Gabon.

Protecting All Four Subspecies of Gorilla

"From its inception, the Congo Gorilla Forest was designed to raise funds and awareness of the plight of gorillas in Africa," the conservation charity said. "Today, WCS is working with the national park services of Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda to create and manage protected areas and protect all four subspecies of gorilla.

"WCS employs the world's leading gorilla scientists who have implemented the most effective field programs in Africa. Wildlife Conservation Society veterinarians are collaborating with the foremost infectious disease experts to end the spread of Ebola and other wildlife diseases."

The award-winning exhibit takes visitors through a misty outdoor rainforest, where the shy okapi blends in with the trees, WCS said in a caption accompanying thesew photos. "Then, visitors can catch glimpses of mandrills, red river hogs, and DeBrazza's monkeys in the Judy and Michael Steinhardt Mandrill Forest.

"Finally, the Congo experience culminates in the C.V. Starr Conservation Theater and Lila Acheson Wallace Great Gorilla Forest. Separated from the gorillas only by glass, the visitor's instinct is to touch the hand that looks so different, yet is so close." Various parts of the exhibit have been named after the most generous donors.

The two troops of gorillas in residence at the Bronx Zoo form one of the largest breeding groups of western lowland gorillas in North America, WCS said. Through the years, 14 gorillas, 23 red river hogs, 11 Wolf's guenons and four okapis have been born in the exhibit. "The WCS breeding programs for these species make significant contributions to the survival of their populations in zoos. This success is due to an immersing habitat and exceptional animal care and dedication."

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of their exhibit, the 19 gorillas at the Bronx Zoo were given "cupcake" treats.

WCS photo by Julie Larsen Maher

Much of WCS's work with gorillas in the wild is funded through the Biodiversity Program and Central Africa Program for the Environment of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Great Ape Conservation Funds of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Through these critical programs, sustainable management practices are brought to key landscapes like the Congo Basin protecting great ape populations while promoting sustainable development for the people of the Congo," WCS said.

WCS is celebrating the ten-year anniversary of the Congo Gorilla Forest through a series of events sponsored by Bank of America, including guided tours, gorilla feeding times, African arts and crafts, traditional interactive African storytelling, and African dance and drum performances.

Said Jim Breheny, Director of the Bronx Zoo and WCS Senior Vice President of Living Institutions: "We invite all to visit the Bronx Zoo to help us celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Congo Gorilla Forest. There is nothing more magical than meeting a gorilla face-to-face, eye-to-eye. This landmark exhibit has made a difference in conservation, in zoo exhibit design and in the lives of millions of Bronx Zoo visitors over the last ten years."

WCS photo by Julie Larsen Maher

 

A baby gorilla was seized from animal traffickers in the Democratic Republic of Congo by the Congolese Wildlife Authority following a three-month undercover investigation to bust an international wildlife smuggling ring, Virunga National Park said today.

"One suspected trafficker was caught and arrested at Goma International Airport on Sunday while disembarking from a flight from Walikale (in the interior of the country and close to gorilla habitat) with an eastern lowland gorilla," according to a statement released by the park.

Photo of rescued gorilla courtesy Virunga National Park

The gorilla was found concealed under clothes at the bottom of a bag and was suffering from over-heating and dehydration after spending more than six hours in transit.

"Our work has revealed a significant upsurge in the trafficking of baby gorillas in recent months, possibly as a result of the war last year," the news statement added.

"Investigations have yet to reveal where these animals are being sent and who is buying them, but on-the-ground sources tell us that a baby gorilla can fetch up to U.S. $20,000," said Emmanuel de Merode, director of Virunga National Park, which is in the eastern part of the Congo and home to populations of both mountain gorillas and lowland gorillas.

"We must remember that for each trafficked baby gorilla, several gorillas have probably been killed in the wild," De Merode continued in the news release. "If we want to preserve our gorillas--and other wildlife--significant resources must be invested to put a stop to these trafficking rings."

The female eastern lowland gorilla, approximately two years old, is in the care of the Congolese Wildlife Authority (ICCN) and the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP). She has a puncture on her right leg and injuries on other parts of her body. It is not known how long ago she was taken from the forests of eastern Congo.

"She remains weak, and is suffering from dehydration and malnutrition, but is responding to treatment administered by MGVP," the news release said.

Photo of rescued gorilla courtesy Virunga National Park

Some 1,100 Park Rangers protect the national parks of eastern Congo, a region affected by a 12-year civil war and current political instability, the news release said. "These parks are home to mountain gorillas, lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, forest elephants and rhinos, among other wildlife. The Rangers have remained active in protecting these parks, four of which have been classified as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Poaching, wildlife trafficking and habitat destruction remain the key threats to the survival of the wildlife in these parks."

Gorillas are the largest of the living primates. The Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) is one of the two subspecies of Eastern Gorilla and is found in the Virunga volcanoes region of Central Africa and in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda. The Lowland Eastern Gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri), also known as the Grauer's Gorilla, is a subspecies of Eastern Gorilla and is only found in the forests of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Virunga National Park, Africa's oldest national park (established in 1925) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, is home to 200 of the world's mountain gorillas and a small population of eastern lowland gorillas.

Updates and additional images can be found on the Virunga National Park's Web site.

Virunga National Park needs your help. Find out whay you can do.

Related stories from National Geographic News

"Spectacular" Gorilla Growth in Congo, Despite War

Baby Gorilla Found Alive After Mass "Execution" in Congo

Belgian Named New Warden of Troubled Gorilla Park

Inside the Gorilla Wars: Rangers on Risking It All

Who Murdered the Virunga Gorillas? (National Geographic Magazine)

Virunga Gorillas: Photo Gallery (National Geographic Magazine) 

Photo by Michael Nichols/NGS

The United Nations and an international coalition of zoos have declared 2009 the Year of the Gorilla.

Announced last month, Year of the Gorilla (YoG) aims to unite the needs of both the largest living primate and the people who live in gorilla range states.

YoG "aims to boost conservation of humankind's closest relatives and their habitats by boosting the livelihoods and incomes of local people," according to a news release issued by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Photo by Michael Nichols/NGS

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Photo by Michael Nichols/NGS

Endangered forest elephants are avoiding Central Africa's roadways at all costs, according to a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Save the Elephants.

The animals associate roads with poaching, which is rampant in the Congo Basin, say the authors of the study published today in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS ONE).

"Forest elephants have adopted a siege mentality, forcing populations to become increasingly confined and isolated," the researchers say. "This in turn reduces these normally far-ranging animals' ability to find suitable habitat, thereby threatening long-term conservation efforts."

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