Journey to Rwanda: Saving the Gorillas

HOUSTON – KPRC 2 reporter Andy Cerota and photographer Damon Sales traveled from Houston to Africa to help raise awareness and support the Houston Zoo in their mission of "Saving Wildlife."  

While in Rwanda, they'll see the gorillas in their natural environment and meet with the Gorilla Doctors, a group of veterinarians who make "house calls" treating the gorillas in the wild. 

Follow Andy on Facebook and Twitter for updates using the hashtag #SavingGorillas.

Read about Andy and Damon's journey below:

March 22, 2015

We just landed in Kigali. We watched the sunset over the Sudan right before we landed.

March 21, 2015

Our next 24 hours...in a nutshell.

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And the rainy season is officially underway in Rwanda!

March 20, 2015

COUNTDOWN TO RWANDA: I'm getting my clothes together for our trip. Rwanda is 2 degrees south of the equator but I'm packing my @kprc2 winter jacket! Sleet is not uncommon in some of the areas we'll be trekking to in the gorilla sanctuary.

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March 18, 2015

COUNTDOWN TO RWANDA: I'm just days away from embarking on the adventure & story assignment of a lifetime! An 8,000 mile journey to Rwanda, home to one of the only thriving gorilla populations in all of Africa. We will be meeting up with folks from the Houston Zoo, which plays an instrumental role in saving these magnificent animals. I can't wait to share every single step of this tremendous journey with all of you!

Notes about the Houston Zoo and the upcoming gorilla exhibit:

• The seven gorillas in the Houston Zoo exhibit are zoo-born animals… meaning they're coming to us from other zoos and they've lived in zoos their entire lives.  It's been several decades since any gorillas were moved from the wild into zoo life in the U.S.
  
• The gorillas in US zoos are endangered Western Lowland Gorillas. The gorillas cared for by the gorilla docs are Mountain gorillas and Eastern Lowland Gorillas.
  
• A portion of all admission tickets at the zoo goes to help programs like Gorilla Doctors which save endangered animals in the wild.  The Houston Zoo is a sponsor of "Gorilla Doctors" and routinely sends zoo representatives to Africa to work with the team and support their mission of helping the gorilla population thrive.