♪ music playing ♪ - Good evening and welcome to our special program tonight, Grit, Gorillas and GRACE.

My name is Parker McMullen Bushman, and I'll be your host for the evening.

I have a background in conservation and education and I'm excited to guide our conversation tonight.

We have a very esteemed panel here with us, from all over the world to discuss the work being done in the Congo to save endangered gorillas.

Tonight, we'll discuss what our community partners at GRACE have been doing to help, not only the Grauer's gorillas.

But also their efforts with the Congolese community to promote conservation.

Starting off our panel, in the studio with me is Tommi Wolfe.

She is the Executive Director of the Gorillas, Rehabilitation and Conservation Education or GRACE, where she combines her lifelong passion for African conservation with decades of leadership expertise, thanks for joining us Tommi.

- Thank you, Parker.

I'm excited to be here.

- Next, joining us on the phone, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Jackson Mbeke, he runs the GRACE operations in the DRC and has over 15 years of experience in the conservation and veterinarian science.

Jackson's experiences help him both in building the Congolese communities and protecting the future of Grauer's gorillas.

Thanks for being with us Jackson.

- I'm delighted to be invited here.

- Also joining us from the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Dalmas Kakule.

Dalmas is the GRACE Animal Care Manager in the DRC.

He started working with confiscated gorillas in January 2010 in Galma.

He has been dedicated to being close to these animals and protecting them ever since.

Thanks for joining us Dalmas.

- OK, thank you, I'm very glad to be invited here.

- Next we have Doctor Katie Fawcett, Program Director at GRACE.

Katie is the, is a dedicated conservation professional who works with GRACE to support the implementation of their Gorilla Animal Welfare and Conservation Programs.

Katie has spent her career living and working in Africa and Asia and brings that knowledge to the teams in the field.

Great to have you with us.

Doctor Fawcett.

- Thank you very much Parker.

I'm delighted to be with you.

- Also joining us is Doctor Tammie Bettinger.

She is the retired Animal Operations Director for Disney's Animal Kingdom and one of the founders of GRACE, she is now a GRACE Board Adviser.

Tammie has over 30 years of experience in the zoo and conservation fields.

Thank you for joining us Doctor Bettinger.

- Thank you, Parker.

It's nice to be here.

- Next is Laura Maloney.

She is the GRACE Board Chair.

She is also the founder and principle at ADESA, specializing in strategic planning, executive and leadership development, team and organizational effectiveness and aligning organizations to deliver its strategy.

Thanks for being with us, Laura.

- Thanks so much for having me Parker.

- And last but not least, we have Denise Verret.

She is the CEO and Zoo Director of the L.A.

Zoo, and has 20 years of executive leadership experience.

She is a board member at GRACE, too.

She is passionate about conservation, community engagement and racial, social and environmental justice.

Thank you so much for being with us, Denise.

- Thank you so much for having me, Parker.

- We have a lot of information we want to get to tonight, but I wanted to start off with the basics.

First Tommie, can you explain, where on Earth is GRACE?

- Yeah sure, so GRACE is in the Democrat Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is right in the heart of Africa.

It's in Equatorial Africa and I'm sure you've seen the incredible ness of photographs that showed this huge green Congo basin easily visible from out of space.

So, most of the Congo is nestled in that huge tropical forests.

It's actually, the second largest one after the Amazon, which is a little more famous, I think.

But GRACE is nestled right up on the eastern border, and you can see on the map, the Albertine Rift Valley, with all the great lakes of Africa divides us from Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and we work right on the eastern side of the of the Democratic Republic, right, at we're located right next to Tayna Nature Reserve.

- We have a clip provided by GoPro here that can give us a visual of what the DRC climate is like.

Let's take a look.

♪ music playing ♪ - We call it "gorilla weather."

Sometimes it's sunny.

Sometimes foggy.

Sometimes cold.

In just one day you see it all.

Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is the only place in the world where Grauer's gorillas are found.

It is very special to have this subspecies here.

GRACE is the only center care for this subspecies.

Of course, with the goal of reintroducing them to the wild.

- Wow, it's such a beautiful place, Tommie, can you explain what's going on in the Congo, right now?

- It is beautiful, in fact it's spectacular, and it definitely has its challenges too.

On the spectacular side, I'm inspired by how incredibly beautiful it is you know, it's a biodiversity hotspot, has huge tracts of unspoiled land.

So, it's actually one of the countries in the world with the most natural resources that's very rich in resources.

It has incredible very resourceful people and one of the, well, the second biggest tropical rainforest, so it's very important from a carbon state point of view as well.

But then on the challenging side, the Congo has really faced decades of political instability and conflict.

So, there are half a million displaced people.

It's an area of extreme poverty which is just very difficult for the people living there.

In fact, in the Human Development Index, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is very near the bottom.

I think it's 6th from the bottom, which means it's a very difficult place for people to live.

So, I always think of it as as dichotomy or some of the very best the world has to offer, and some of the world's biggest challenges.

- Jackson, I'd like to bring you into the conversation here.

Can you explain why are the gorillas important?

- Well, we have four subspecies of gorillas.

We have the eastern lowland gorillas.

We have the mountain gorillas and then we have the western lowland gorillas and then the Cross River gorillas.

So, all these subspecies are endangered and then the only one subspecies, the Grauer's gorilla, I mean the eastern lowland gorilla adoption to the DRC.

So, apart from this adoption, behavioral and physical closer to human, these gorillas are stars of the pride and it's a Congolese heritage and then to protect these gorillas is it means we protect everything.

Their habitat and then all the bold diversity, I mean by habitat.

The forest where they live, the Congolese forest and that forest is the second largest forest after the Amazon.

- Jackson, can you tell us what's happening to gorillas and why?

- Actually, Grauer's gorillas are endangered and really critically, and then we have a catastrophic decline of the population number, I mean a 80% of a decline in true in 20 last year, so they really need protection.

And then these gorillas can live outside of the National Park, they just live in the forest and that means we need to include the communities, so that we can protect them properly.

- So, Jackson, what would you say are the challenges that are facing the communities that are trying to conserve the gorillas?

- Actually, the community in protecting this gorillas, like I've said, this gorillas live sometimes in the forest outside the park, so the community living there, they rely on the forest too, they can use natural resources too.

So, the forest for the community is all for them.

I mean, that's where they get their medicine.

That's where they get their food.

It's their supermarket, fuel, so these needs can a put sometimes gorillas in trouble with the community, just some conflict.

So really, we need to include the community who are in keeping after these gorillas.

So that we we find solution both for human and gorilla welfare.

- Wow, that's so important.

I'd like to mention that some of the video clips you are seeing are from our partners at GoPro and explore.org, from the live feed that we'll talk more about later on in the hour.

I would like to play another short video clip about what it looks like on the ground in the DRC now, here we meet the adolescent gorilla named, Lulingu, let's take a look.

♪ music playing ♪ - Lulingu?

OK?

- Ever seen a gorilla before?

It's OK. - We go to the quarantine.

- I would like to follow up with you, Doctor Bettinger.

Can you talk a bit about what's being done currently to help the gorillas in the Congo?

- So, as Jackson mentioned, they're critically endangered and they are protected by law in the Congo.

And so, we do have that in place, but as he also mentioned, they often live outside of the National Park, and so it's really dependent upon the communities and the people that share the forest with them to ensure that they are protected.

And, you know, GRACE started because the community wanted to do this protection and they asked us to help them.

So, we're doing a lot of work with the local people to help them find alternative livelihoods to learn more about gorillas, to come up with ways to perhaps grow trees in their compounds so they're not going into the forest.

And so a lot is being done, but and it's been instigated by the people that live there, and really, that's what the protection of these girls depends on.

Is the local people who are with them every day.

- Excellent.

Also, Doctor Bettinger, can you explain how this is helping the greater Congolese community?

- I, I think this project helps the greater Congolese community by helping them develop skills that are useful outside of just conservation.

For example, when we were building GRACE, we employed a lot of people to help us build this facility and think about trying to build a facility to hold a 400-pound gorilla.

In any one of the remotest areas on the face of the Earth.

We don't have heavy equipment.

We don't have power tools.

We relied on the Congolese ingenuity to help us get this done and along the way, we were able to help them develop skills like how to weld, how alternative ways for power, and so the skills that they've learned by participating in the project has helped them in other aspects of their life and has improved their livelihood and helped them think kind of outside their traditional box.

And, you know, there's another thing that goes along with that, and that's the soft skills.

How to give a presentation.

How to present your case to get funding.

How to lead a meeting and how to work with honesty and integrity that we've tried to do and respect for not only the animals about for each other, and I think together all of these things benefits the community.

Not only in their endeavor to conserve the gorillas, but just in their life in general.

- Doctor Bettinger, are there any stories that you would like to share with us?

- I would love to tell a story about Jackson.

So, I believe it was in 2009.

We had had some issues in the Congo as as always happens and the project had kind of come to a stop and a colleague and not my I was sent over there to see what we needed to do to restart this project.

And so, we fly over there, and it takes several days of trans different types of transport to get there, and we land on the dirt runway and I look up and there is a smiling face of Jackson, and he had been assigned the task of helping us do whatever needed to be done to get this project going, and a friend had given me advice.

Don't try to figure out how you're gonna do something in Congo, tell the Congolese what you want the end result to be an let them problem solve it, and that's been the most important advice I've ever had, and so now Jackson knows, I ask him this question all the time.

Jackson, is this possible?

And the answer is always yes, let me talk to some people, and the the Congolese ingenuity is what made this project work and the leadership of this young man Jackson, who's now our director, has really been a shining star in the community and people look up to him now.

Because of all the work he's done for gorillas, but also in the community.

- I love that story so much, Jackson, do you have any response to Tammie's story?

- Really, I'm a very proud.

I'm feeling very honored, honored like she had said, that yeah, it's true, who we start everything.

So, really, I'm very happy.

- Alright, thank you.

I'd like to go over to Doctor Fawcett.

Doctor Fawcett can you tell us about GRACE and how do they support the efforts in the Congo?

- Yes, thank you, Parker.

GRACE operates the only sanctuary in the world for Grauer's gorillas.

These are gorillas that have been rescued from the international wildlife trade and the the support given by GRACE allows the law enforcement to, to occur and GRACE is working on rehabilitating these rescued gorillas, with the goal of reintroducing the gorillas to the reintroducing, releasing the gorillas back into the wild, and we've done have done an amazing job in the rehabilitation.

You see, the videos, the photos of the surrogate family, gorilla family group, and our working on the next step, working with major partners to release the gorillas back into the wild.

But when you're working with a critically endangered species, every individual counts, so having every individual be part of that critically endangered population is a goal, a goal for GRACE.

Now, as GRACE has been working on the with the sanctuary and with the efforts on rehabilitation and release, the gorilla populations in the wild as Jackson was explaining have been drastically declining and so as Tommie explained, GRACE is located right next to the Tayna Nature Reserve, and so GRACE is building on its support in the community, its partnership with the community to look to to support conservation for gorillas in the wild, in Tayna.

And as Tommie said, this is challenging, it's a very very remote area of the world, but for us doing nothing is simply not an option.

We can't stop.

We have to continue to problem solve.

We have to continue to stay focused on every individual gorilla, and we're so lucky that to come on that journey with us we have the most amazing donors and partners.

Who are in this for the long haul and really that long term commitment and dedication to the gorillas in the sanctuary and the gorillas in the wild, gorillas in Tayna, is what makes this project successful?

- I'm really excited to talk our next person Dalmas, but Dalmas, who was a person on the ground before we get to you, let's take a look at a video here about being a caregiver to gorillas like Lulingu.

♪ music playing ♪ Lulingu is the name of a village near Kahuzi-Biega.

We often name our baby gorillas based on the village they were rescued.

Because these are individuals who have been forcibly taken from their families and that means they're terribly traumatized.

When we get a gorilla, we assign a caregiver, a guardian who plays the role of a parent to the baby so we can help rebuild the baby's confidence and so it feels loved.

We have Kambale Muviri and we also have Ms. Devotte.

They have taken care of Lulingu since her arrival here in quarantine until her integration.

- How much time do you spend with her each day?

- All day.

Yes.

- The morning, the afternoon?

- Yes during the day, all day.

I give her milk at 7:00 AM on the dot.

Two passion fruits and two plums.

- After feeding her, I take her to the bush.

- Caregivers strive to take complete care of babies.

A gorilla eats a lot.

- She eats very well, Lulingu doesn't have any problems.

Lulingu plays very well, too.

Lulingu!

Lulingu, are you Ok?

Baby.

- Baby gorillas like to play, because they're curious.

Everything you see in people you see in gorillas.

We think of them as members of the family.

- I loved hearing the French in that video.

I know that our next speaker Dalmas actually speaks five or more different languages.

Dalmas, can you tell us more about a typical day caring for the gorillas at GRACE?

- Okay, thank you.

Yeah, that's when we come at GRACE as we live in the community.

The first thing we do is to take in the shower and wear our uniform and get us to avoid some illness which can come from the village to the site.

So, we are much concerned actually because we have a problem of this pandemic disease of COVID-19 and we have to be cleaning every time and washing time, the hand, every time.

Yeah, we have even posted several wash bowl at a different place.

In the case that everyone can be able to get the old to wash anywhere he is.

We have even asking someone at the side to whistle, after two hours that whistle means that it's time to wash.

It's not to remind all the stuff that are, it's the time to also have to go to our different side where you have posted this wash boy, and this is doing every day.

After that time I have to visit the time of washing our body and putting you our uniform, we can then go to the gorilla night house for doing a quick check.

Just to see if gorillas wake up very well.

There's not something which is going wrong with them, and then we can do a feeding.

Yeah, and this feeding we have to reach individually, and each gorillas can get his food and for this we have a diet plan for each one.

Yeah, the gorillas get food three times a day, we give them food in the morning, at noon, and at evening.

But, for this the the majority of food, gorilla find themselves in forest enclosure, in which they can easily get fresh food.

In this forest we have more than 100 species consumed by gorillas and the gorillas can choose which pieces she can eat or what he can, and they know which can help him for anything.

Like if he's sick he can eat get, he knows which food can help him with any illness which he can got.

Really this help us very much.

Apart from the forest enclosure, we have provided a farm in which we have growed many vegetable like carrots, cabbage the beat root, we have a radish and so on, really we grow much vegetable in and just to supplements, the gorilla diet.

After this we have also provide the baking nutritionist, nutrition biscuits.

This gorillas love them very much.

We have the the the ingredients which we use with our founded locally here at a GRACE.

After this then we at eight we can release the gorillas in the forest and caregivers run off observing them along the fence line during the day and this to make sure that all gorillas are in there good and there is not escape which can happen because they can just try to go out.

But the caregivers are there, just walking, walking there around and see what's happening there.

Yeah.

Then at noon we call back gorillas at the night house for a feeding because I said that they feed them three times a day then they come through the second feeding at noon.

And then at that time we can also do the training.

Yeah, we have planned to train gorillas difference behaviors and this behaviors have a subject, we don't train gorilla, just to train them, but we train them with an issue center.

Maybe one day we will need to treat gorillas, what can we do?

We have to ask them, a shooter, and maybe this shooter will help us to give them injection and then we have trained them to bring them, themselves the shooter near the mesh and there we can give them injection.

Also, just for example, who have also trained them to get their temperature.

This pandemic period of disease of COVID-19 we thought also that we have should be taking them they temperature every day and then we trained them to give their enema, enema just to make the temperature from the enema and we can even take them every on the different places but the enema temperature give good results, so we have trained them also to do this.

Yeah, after that training then we can send back gorillas in the forest for getting they fresh food, which they, caregivers go back again with them.

Checking at the security measure and looking what is going on.

At 5:00 PM we call them in building an again the feeding.

After the feeding then we can leave them a night house for sleeping.

But there is a special time at time when we have a gorilla, a baby gorilla which comes and we have a quarantine.

In that quarantine we put a gorilla just to observing him.

If you have disease or not so she lives in the quarantine for 14, 40 days, 40 days observing him and when we make sure that this gorilla is doing good and then we can try to plan the reintroduction in the big group of gorilla.

It's how we work at GRACE.

Thank you for this.

- It's so amazing to hear about the work that you're doing on the ground Dalmas, and to just have you with us first from so many miles away.

GRACE has such a touching mission with professional execution that they're supported all over the world.

One of their supporters is the L.A.

Zoo.

Denise, could you share what the L.A.

Zoo is doing in collaboration with GRACE?

- Sure, Parker.

The Los Angeles Zoo has supported and partnered with GRACE, since 2014, providing financial support as well as best practices in Gorilla Animal Husbandry through our own animal care expertise.

Our Director of Animal Programs, Beth Schafer, serves as the Co-Chair of GRACES Animal Care and Welfare Advisory Committee.

Beth has traveled to GRACE three times and has also met with the team in Uganda.

The committee meets once a month with the great staff to discuss animal husbandry training and best animal management practices.

The shared expertise can range from designing facility spaces to developing training plans, discussing diets and veterinary issues, as you just heard Dalmas talk about.

It's important to note that the staff at GRACE already had an incredible foundational knowledge and how to care for infant gorillas and the L.A.

Zoo built upon this foundation, by training GRACE's staff and gorilla husbandry practices for rearing and reintroduction of gorillas, as well as protected contact practices.

The GRACE Animal Team has become the premier gorilla animal group in all of Africa and several sanctuaries and groups now look to GRACE for their expertise.

Another way the L.A.

Zoo.

is supporting GRACE staff is by testing tracking devices that will one day allow researchers to track the movements of wild gorillas through the forests.

A critical step in the ultimate goal of translocating sanctuary gorillas into protected wild areas.

Here at this zoo, we're testing different anklets on our own gorillas for durability and comfort.

The anklets were placed on GRACE gorillas prior to their release and will hold a tracking device to enabled biologists to monitor the movements of the gorillas.

This type of critical support that accredited zoos provide in C2 conservation programs such as GRACE.

Finally, I have the honor and the privilege to serve on the Board of GRACE.

Helping to provide leadership and guidance as we strive to realize the vision of a healthy, stable population of wild Grauer's gorillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, that is no longer threatened.

As the world's only sanctuary for rescued Grauer's gorillas, it is a model program whose success is rooted in animal care and welfare, community empowerment, engagement, education, collaboration, and partnerships.

It is these types of partnerships and collaborative projects that can establish lifelong bonds and collective impact through shared experiences.

The Los Angeles Zoo is passionate about protecting and preserving the critically endangered Grauer's gorilla in their home range.

- It's so amazing to hear about these partnerships that are all across the world.

We have one more video here that I'd like to show to see how Lulingu's integration goes with his new family.

Let's take a look.

♪ music playing ♪ - Lulingu, goodbye!

- Lulingu, goodbye!

Goodbye!

- They all embraced Lulingu, just to tell her, "Welcome to the group".

- There, I think she is, three or four meters.

These are animals that if we don't make the effort, are going to disappear soon.

We have a duty to preserve them for future generations.

- Now that we've heard the powerful story of the Grauer's gorillas and the amazing work being done in the partnerships, I think our audience likely wants to know, what can I do?

Laura, what are some of the actions we can take?

- Thanks so much Parker yes, you know Tammie mentioned that GRACE is still so far away even to get there and it's a journey.

So, for those of us that live in the U.S. we can think, gosh what can I do from my little piece of the world in my everyday life.

When actually there are lots of things that we can do and just even just doing just a little bit helps us feel, well it certainly helps me feel like I can do something even if I'm not there on the ground where they, you know Congolese team is already exceptional.

So how can we help from here?

So we mentioned earlier this explorer.org, which is a live cam and we're very lucky to have the support of explore.org and they were installed these cameras in this remote setting and you can see the gorillas there and amazing experience you have.

So, if you're in an office in New York City, you can watch the gorillas that are in the DRC, but if you're a parent and your a mom or dad, and you want to connect your children with gorillas.

One way of doing it is just by before bedtime, say goodnight to the gorillas or in morning, say good morning to the gorillas.

You know you can do some fun things with children and develop this routine so they can start to develop a relationship and just see them in their wild place.

So, I think.

I think you may even have a link to that, or you may be able to show that at some point, Parker.

And then there's a number of other things that we can do.

We're all using smartphones and I know I'm attached to mine.

Well, in that smartphone are a number of wires and things that come from mining.

So, when we're out and going to get a new phone, we can simply recycle the phone so that is one thing that we can do as well, and there are ways that you can you know your your dealer, whoever you go with, can give you some advice on that.

And another you know thanks to people like Denise and the Los Angeles Zoo, and you know they're supporting the conservation that's happening on the ground and so by going to the zoo and visiting those who are really supporting GRACE, it's another thing you can do, very easily and have a great time with your family or if you just want to go yourself and explore and see the gorillas there, their cousins, their wild cousins, you can certainly do that as well.

And something else I do, is that I, I try to leverage my buying power so when I'm going to shop you know I buy shade grown coffee, because shade grown coffee requires really little to no fertilizers, no pesticides, you know, they're really trying to grow it with nature and it also helps the trees help to filter carbon dioxide, which really is causing you know, contributing to global warming.

So, and then I also, because I'm a sweet tooth person.

I like a lot of chocolate and sometimes chocolate and in our products can have palm oil in them.

So, simply by looking on the back of the label you can choose products that don't have palm oil or make sure they're sustainable palm oil and not just saying palm oil as another thing, and then you know shopping when you're out shopping.

There's something called, give 1% for the planet and they formed partnerships in in with other businesses who give 1% of their profits back to organizations like GRACE and others who are doing good for the world.

So, there are a number of things we can do, but those are just a handful just to give you some thoughts.

- Tommie, I can't believe how quickly this time has gone by.

We're about to wrap up, but I would like to get some final thoughts from everyone before we do so, I would like to start with you Jackson.

- My final thoughts is that really address where we live is an oasis.

in a desert where people have hope, so it's something which is here in the Bush Center.

Dolly community we like onions and we have hope that fix really get better, so that's what I I have like, thought.

- Tommie, I would love it.

Do you have any final thoughts that you would like to share with us?

- Hi, yes, sure.

I think you know when I sit and listen to my team, the first thing that comes up, I'm so proud of this team because on a daily basis they work really hard and really, creatively and with so much passion and energy.

To try and really make a difference for both the community and the gorillas and the biodiversity, in this end of the world.

So, I'm really proud of them, but I also feel like I speak for all of us when I say we have an incredible opportunity.

This is a really, really special place for some really special biodiversity and Grauer's gorillas, and I think we have an incredible opportunity to make a difference and preserve it for for humans and people to come and I think the clock is ticking.

So, I I think we all feel a pressure to do something and do it now.

- Wow.

Dalmas, it was incredible to hear about the work that you were doing.

Could you help us with some final thoughts?

- Yes, of course.

Yeah, my my first is that I thank very much all the advisor.

Which makes us expert with doing this job, which we are doing is because of her because they have worked much to help us about these gorillas.

Another thing is just a, it just like a dream for me and I was dreaming about sharing my own experience working with gorillas.

Shall we, sharing it with the American people or American Zoo?

I hope one day maybe we go in USA and share this experience with the other zoo in America.

Really, that's all for me.

- We would love to have you and I'll be first in line to meet you in person.

Next, I would love to hear from Doctor Bettinger.

- I was just gonna say that you know seeing those video clips never get old and seeing how we are able to take a baby gorilla that's been traumatized by being poached and take it to this stage of living in a fully integrated family social group.

Just almost brings tears to my eyes and mine, and I know I can speak from Katie, these gorillas some of these gorillas you know longer than I have as babies when they came in.

When I see Pinga which was the big gorilla that took Lulingu on her back.

When I see her that she came from being poached as a baby to being a mother in this group, it just, brings tears to my eyes.

I'm so proud of the team that got him there.

But I am so proud of the resilience of these gorillas, and it gives me hope that we are going to be able to put him back in the wild someday.

- Thank you.

Laura, your experience and background in your leadership as the GRACE Board Chair is so appreciated.

I would love to hear your final thoughts.

- Thank you, you know every time I interact with the staff and the team and the advisors and just everyone who is involved is just an incredible group of people and for a species that really is so dependent on the our daily actions and something I spoke to earlier.

You know we can all play a role in protecting Grauer's, so even if you're not a scientist or you're not in the DRC, you too can make an impact and I just feel super.

Really honored to work with these amazing people in the Congolese who are so dedicated to the work and have great strategies and there's so many great stories around, just heartwarming and just as Tammie mentioned, you know, tearing up at watching the video, you can see that time and time again just the small things that happen.

Another time will have to tell you about chamomile tea, but that's that's a great story too.

But just super super just proud of the work and the resilience of not only the gorillas but also the people that are involved.

So, thank you so much.

- That's so wonderful, I would also like to hear from Doctor Katie Fawcett.

thanks Parker.

So, what really excites me about working with the team at GRACE is, you know in my generation we've lost so much biodiversity but at GRACE we have the opportunity to both restore biodiversity by rehabilitating the gorillas, releasing into the wild, but also to protect wild places to protect primary, intact forest and to partner with communities that value that biodiversity.

The value those conservation areas, is it truly inspiring and and very energizing for me to be able to be part, a small part of this team that's doing amazing work.

- And I'd love the wrap up with the CEO and Zoo Director of the L.A.

Zoo, Denise.

Denise, can you tell us your final thoughts?

- Yes, Parker, thank you so much.

The Los Angeles Zoo is just so proud to partner with and support GRACE in the incredible work that they're doing each and every day to protect and preserve the critically endangered Grauer's gorilla.

We're so glad that we can take our expertise and knowledge that we have here at the Los Angeles Zoo and share that and help to protect the species and it's really symbolic of our conservation efforts and the important roles that zoo's play in protecting endangered species around the world.

- Now I know we're wrapping up, but Tommie, I really can't leave without you telling us about the chamomile tea story that Laura alluded to earlier.

- Oh sure, so one of our guerrillas Marisa before she came to GRACE, she spent a couple of years living, she was well treated, but does she lived with no gorillas, which is very stressful for gorillas.

They really like a gorilla family and she developed just a little habit of plucking her hair to self soothe when she felt anxious.

And although she's very healthy, it does leave her, you know it leaves little patches from time to time and we have the most incredible partners all over the world that help us from a scientific point of view, but one of our animal welfare advisers had heard anecdotal evidence that chamomile tea was soothing to the gorillas.

I that do get a little bit angsty and so so Marisa now drinks chamomile tea, Dalmas gives her a mug of chamomile tea every day.

So how many gorillas take tea and I think it was the first chamomile tea in this part of the Congo.

I don't think it had been seen before, so it got shipped in a very special way to the Congo and just a cute story and she loves the attention of getting the tea, too.

- Wow, that's amazing and it's amazing how much we have in common, right, with gorillas.

A good mug of chamomile tea sooths to me as well.

All right, well this has been just an amazing hour and I have so enjoyed hearing everyone's stories from GRACE.

I really have enjoyed speaking with you and all of our esteemed panelists from all over the world.

But unfortunately, that's all the time that we have for tonight.

This has been such an amazing hour with a stellar lineup of important dedicated people doing amazing work.

Thank you so much for watching and thanks to our community partners at Grace.

You can find this show at pbs12.org, I'm Parker McMullin Bushman, and from all of us here at PBS 12.

Thank you for watching and good night.

♪ music playing ♪