Rowers Donate £7,000 to Bristol Zoo For Cameroon Primate Project

By Lucy Parkinson

Bristol, UK - Two Atlantic adventurers who completed the toughest rowing race on earth to raise money for Bristol Zoo Gardens have handed over a cheque for £7,000.

Bristol lads Niall McCann and James Burge rowed for 63 days, travelling 3,000 miles across the ocean in the 2007 Atlantic Rowing Race, risking shark attack, freak waves, shipping lanes, tankers and extreme weather conditions.

They made the amazing journey to raise vital funds for Bristol Zoo Gardens’ primate project in Cameroon, in collaboration with the Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund (CWAF). This includes caring for baby gorillas and chimps, orphaned by the illegal bushmeat trade.
 
James and Niall made the Atlantic crossing in a specially-built boat they named ‘Komale’ – after Bristol Zoo’s youngest gorilla, finishing the race in fifth place out of 15 pairs.
 
Now Niall has returned to Bristol Zoo, where their rowing boat is on show and up for sale, to present the Zoo staff with a cheque for £7,000.
 
Niall, 27, from Old Market, said: “I’m delighted to be handing this cheque to Bristol Zoo. We decided we wanted to support the Zoo’s Primate Projects almost as soon as we had confirmed our entry in the 2007 Atlantic Rowing Race.
 
“It has been a great pleasure to work with the staff at Bristol Zoo and the Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund throughout our training and preparation, and our charity fundraising was never far from our minds while we were on the Atlantic itself.”
 
James, 27, from Kingwood, added: “Making the Atlantic crossing was a massive achievement and an experience that will stay with me forever. Now being able to hand over this money that we have worked so hard for is a very satisfying feeling.”
 
The 2007 Atlantic Rowing Race saw James and Niall set off from La Gomera on December 4, 2007, finishing in Antigua’s English Harbour on February 5, 2008. They finished in fifth place, out of 15 pairs making the crossing.
 
The adventure is far from over for the pair however, as they plan to undertake more challenges in the future. James is planning a 200km trek through the Amazon and Niall is now continuing his work alongside Bristol Zoo by starting a PhD studying gorillas, with Cardiff University.
 
Niall said: “Handing this cheque over may seem like the end of a great challenge, but in many ways I see it as the beginning of a relationship I hope will last for years.
I hope that the money we have raised will go on to make a real difference to the lives of the animals and the people involved in the Cameroon Wildlife Aid Fund.”
 
Dr Bryan Carroll, Deputy Director of Bristol Zoo Gardens, said: “Niall’s and James’ achievement is a huge accomplishment and something they should be very proud of. We are hugely grateful for their fundraising efforts as well as the fantastic job they have done in highlighting the vital work of Bristol Zoo Gardens’ primate projects in Cameroon.”
 
Bristol Zoo Gardens will also be taking part in the 2009 ‘Year of the Gorilla’ campaign. Launched this week, the Year of the Gorilla is a joint effort between the Convention on Migratory Species, the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums to raise awareness of the threats to gorillas and funding for activities to address those threats.
 
The ‘Year of the Gorilla’ was launched at a ceremony in Rome where Prince Albert II of Monaco and representatives from more than 100 governments gathered this week to discuss increasing measures for nearly 30 species endangered by pollution, climate change and over hunting.
 
For more information about Bristol Zoo Gardens and CWAF, the international primate projects, visit www.bristolzoo.org.uk or www.cwaf.org.
 
History of the transatlantic rowing race
*        Only 157 boats have ever crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the race, carrying with them less people than have stood on the summit of Mount Everest!
*        Route – La Gomera to English Harbour, Antigua – Approx 2550 nautical miles / close to 3000 miles
*        Record Time 40 days and 5 hours
*        British Record 40 days and 17 hours
*        The boat, called Komale, weighs approximately 1 ton fully laden and is 24 feet long, 6 feet wide and 3 feet deep.
 
The bushmeat crisis
*        Our closest relatives are the Great Apes – gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees) in Africa and orangutans in Asia
*        In the past 50 years, their numbers have declined by at least 50%
*        They are now protected by law and therefore hunting and selling them is illegal
*        Despite the strict controls, the hunting of apes continues on a widespread basis
*        The illegal bushmeat trade could eliminate all viable populations of African apes (gorillas and chimpanzees) within the next 20 years because they are being killed at a completely unsustainable rate
*        Dr Bryan Carroll of Bristol Zoo and Chair of the EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) bushmeat working group that has organised the campaign to halt the illegal commercial bushmeat trade. Bryan Carroll, together with other representatives of the campaign, presented the 1.9 million signature petition to the European Parliament in Brussels on November 6, 2000
*        Bristol Zoo is involved in extensive conservation work in Cameroon as part of its International Primate Projects. It works with the zoo the capital, Yaoundé, at a sanctuary for young gorillas and chimpanzees orphaned by the illegal trade in bushmeat, and in a communication education programme in villages in South East Cameroon where gorillas in the wild coexist with humans
 
Bristol Zoo
*        Bristol Zoo is open from 9am every day except Christmas Day. 
*        The Zoo is an Education and Conservation Charity and relies on the income from visitors to support its work.  The Zoo is involved with over one hundred co-ordinated breeding programmes for threatened wildlife species. 
*        It employs 140 full and part-time staff to care for the animals and run a successful visitor attraction to support its conservation and education work. 
*        Bristol Zoo supports – through finance and skill sharing - over 10 projects in the UK and abroad that conserve and protect some of the world’s most endangered species.
*        Bristol Zoo is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums.  BIAZA represents more than 90 member collections and promotes the values of good zoos and aquariums.