The Maui Ape Preserve (MAP) is being established to secure the future for Koko and her species (gorillas). It is also the first phase of a collaborative plan to help save all of the great apes (gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, oranguans) from imminent extinction.

MAP will start with a 70-acre sanctuary on the tropical slopes of west Maui (much like the native gorilla habitat in Africa). A separate visitor educational center will enable the public to connect to great apes in real-time, via interactive video technology. MAP will also give Koko an opportunity to have a family, and possibly teach sign language to the next generation. Importantly, it will give the world a better opportunity to see how gorillas should be allowed to live — by using video technology, rather than intrusive exhibitions.

Goals:
Through establishing the Maui Ape Preserve (MAP), the Gorilla Foundation will ensure a future for its expanded programs and the survival of great apes in the following ways:

1. Research: Only with a fuller understanding of our closest biological relatives, the great apes, can we place ourselves in the necessary context to gain critical insights about ourselves as a species. MAP will establish a permanent home for interspecies communication research, which is revealing how much we share emotionally and intellectually with these magnificent beings.

2. Education: MAP will establish an urgently needed world-class program designed to inspire and train the next generation of scientists and conservationists to expand, teach and apply the lessons learned from interspecies communication research.

3. Welfare: It is essential to provide secure and appropriate habitats for gorillas like Koko in need of alternative living conditions. MAP will establish a sanctuary that resembles the natural habitat of gorillas in Africa as closely as possible, fosters the development of natural family social groups, and applies the insight gained from interspecies communication to maintain the best environment possible for them.

Each of the above MAP program goals supports great ape conservation. Leveraging Koko’s renown and communication skills as ambassador, MAP will help wildlife and environmental conservation organizations stop the slaughter of free-living great apes, by generating the political will needed to take immediate steps to save them from extinction, while providing sanctuary for individual gorillas in need of alternative living conditions.

Status:
The first phase of MAP construction is already complete including the following:

A minimum of $3 million is needed to complete the project, and enable the move of the Gorilla Foundation from California to Hawaii. You can help!