Great ape preservation is an integral component of Great Ape Trust. The loss of the world's great apes and the continued destruction of their habitat in Africa, Borneo and Sumatra have reached catastrophic levels. The Great Ape Trust is strongly committed to creating and fostering a new ethic of conservation, raising financial resources and providing funds for great ape conservation efforts worldwide.

"Through the GACC's efforts over the last 12 years, we now realize you can't conserve the apes or rain forests without conserving the people who live there," says Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh with Great Ape Trust. "The goal of the two groups is to enhance the connection and pride the Congolese people have for their rain forest and their great ape neighbors."

An Internet video link from the GACC field site in central Africa to Great Ape Trust of Iowa in Des Moines will be established soon to provide a better understanding of the GACC efforts to save Africa's great apes.