Help the Gorillas

Gorilla’s are on the brink of extinction and they’re calling on YOU to donate your phone today!

(This information is taken from the official Melbourne Zoo website https://www.zoo.org.au/theyre-calling-on-you-phones/)

You can now help save Gorilla’s in Africa simply by donating your mobile phone! Each time your mobile phone rings, a tiny piece of metallic ore from Africa is making this call possible: coltan. The mining of this commodity within the Congo River Basin is contributing to forest loss and unrest in the region, and is accelerating the loss of mountain gorillas at an alarmingly fast rate.

Did you know?

– More than 800 million people around the world currently use mobile phones and that figure is growing daily!
– In Australia alone, it is estimated that there were 9 million new mobile phones sold in the last 12 months.
– Australians typically upgrade their phones every 18-24 months! This exerts enormous pressure on the mining of resources such as coltan needed to manufacture   new phones.
– 80% of the world’s coltan reserves are located within the Democratic Republic of Congo.

As the forest is denuded for mining, the protection once offered by the habitat in it’s pristine state is now no longer able to shelter gorillas and a range of other species from the bush meat crisis. In Kahuzi Biega National Park, more than fifty percent of the mountain gorilla population has been lost, leaving the species on the brink of extinction.

You can make a difference simply by donating your old mobile phone!

By donating your phone through the “They’re Calling on You” mobile phone recycling program you are:

– Diverting your phone from landfill
– Helping Melbourne Zoo raise money to support the Jane Goodall Institutes primate conservation work in Africa through the sale of refurbished phones and…
– Lessening the demand for coltan mining by providing the coltan coated capacitor in your old mobile phone a second life.

To support the “They’re Calling on You” mobile phone recycling program you can:

– Visit Melbourne Zoo to collect a postage paid recycling satchel, and post your mobile phone to the Aussie Recycling Program. Your phone will be refurbished and resold to disadvantaged community groups.
– Download and print a copy of our postage paid label and post your phone today!
– Donate a corporate fleet of mobile phones by following these four easy steps! To register your support simply email the registration form to zvfoundation@zoo.org.au or fax it to (03) 9285 9377.
– Schools can get involved too! Please contact Kate McCabe at Melbourne Zoo by email or phone (03) 9285 9471 to discuss integrating this program to your curriculum whilst inspiring students to take action for wildlife.

For further information please contact:
Rachel Lowry
Community Conservation Manager
Zoos Victoria
Ph: (03) 9285 9377
Mob: 0448 504 490
Fax: (03) 9285 9340