Kids Global Act Pact

Kids taking a stand and signing the Act Pact

Claymation Gorillasodes

More pictures to come!

http://www.nsta.org/publications/ostb/ostb2009.aspx

National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12: 2009

By Juliana Texley,
Lead Reviewer, NSTA Recommends

Today’s classrooms have no real walls! Students explore the world on field trips, during virtual journeys on the world wide web, and through the books they read. These pathways help them fly to the ends of the universe to satisfy their scientific curiosity.

Again this year, the professionals of the NSTA/CBC Review Panel for Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12 have been pleased to serve as travel guides, identifying the best in trade books for student explorations. Their recommendations encourage young readers to fly Over the Rivers, brave the Antarctic with Emperors of the Ice, come Face to Face With Elephants, or help a family of mountain gorillas Looking for Miza. There are journeys to microworlds as well, inviting students into Dr. Frankenstein’s lab to investigate the human body, to search nests for Eggs, or work with a National Geographic scientist to explore Genetics.

Each of these books is not just accurate, up-to-date, and attractive but also represents a new, creative path to inquiry. They often have text at a variety of levels—suitable for first reading alone or in a group and for revisiting again and again to learn more. Graphics are often so detailed that they not only support the text but provide opportunities for students to hone their observation skills and to make connections and apply concepts. And almost all of these roads to adventure are linked to other paths (print and electronic) so that the curious explorer can go further. The journey begins here—come along.

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE48N4L520080924

Wed Sep 24, 2008 9:50am EDT

By Belinda Goldsmith

LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - The cold-blooded murder of about 10 of Congo’s endangered mountain gorillas last year horrified author Craig Hatkoff until one glimmer of hope emerged — the rescue of an orphaned baby gorilla.

The baby, named Miza, was feared dead as her mother was among the gorillas killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park, home to 380 of the world’s 720 mountain gorillas.

But after several days lost in the jungle, Miza was rescued by her father, silverback gorilla Kabirizi, and brought back to live with her family to be raised by her sister and half-brother.

The story inspired New York-based Hatkoff to write “Looking for Miza: The True Story of the Mountain Gorilla Family Who Rescued One of Their Own,” along with his daughters Isabella, 9, and Juliana, 13, as the centerpiece of a campaign to help save the gentle giants that range across the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It is not the first animal story by Hatkoff. He has previously written books about the polar bear Knut who became an icon for global warming and about the friendship of a tortoise and hippo, Owen and Mzee, after the southeast Asian tsunami.

“Miza’s true story is a life-affirming tale of hope and courage. I think the appeal of this story is that gorillas are about 98 percent human from a genetic standpoint and it is like we are looking into a mirror at ourselves,” Hatkoff told Reuters.

“My guess is you could put a name, face and nose print to every mountain gorilla left on the planet and it becomes a powerful metaphor because if we can’t save the mountain gorillas what does it say about the other species we have to save.”

CAMPAIGNING FOR GORILLAS

Hatkoff wants to use the book, released this week by Scholastic, as a centerpiece of a campaign to raise awareness about the endangered mountain gorillas and help the people living in the Great Lakes area of Africa.

“This is a war-torn area of the world and the loss of habitat and economic problems like the charcoal mafia have created a crisis,” said Hatkoff.

“This is not longer just about saving the gorillas but we have to save the people there too who need clean water, food security, education and health care. These are complicated problems but they are solvable.”

His company Turtle Pond Publications has joined forces with Scholatic, Wildlife Direct, the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative founded by Bill Clinton to raise awareness about Africa’s endangered mountain gorillas.

The book will be at the core of the campaign with a children’s summit on gorillas with U.S.-wide webcast planned and websites to get people involved and show how they can help.

“These true stories can create an emotional connection to real animals and the idea here is to say what you can do about it and you can become part of the story,” said Hatkoff.

“Mountain gorillas must be the most magnificent species on the planet and if this campaign works, it will work for tigers, for people as well.”

(Editing by Miral Fahmy)

Check out the review of Looking for Miza in Publishers Weekly.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6601542.html

Looking for Miza: The True Story of the Mountain Gorilla Family Who Rescued One of Their Own Juliana Hatkoff, Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff and Paula Kahumbu, photos by Peter Greste. Scholastic, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-545-08540-3

Adding to their books about animals who respond to dire situations with inspiring behavior, the Hatkoffs (Owen and Mzee) team with the conservation director of Wildlife Direct, Kahumbu, to describe how a 31-member mountain gorilla family mobilizes itself to rescue and then raise Miza, orphaned under mysterious circumstances before she is two. The story is more ambitious than any the Hatkoffs have previously told, and they only partly fulfill their crowded agenda: explaining the dynamics of a gorilla family and the needs of the young; explaining the role of park rangers; and explaining the danger of extinction (the mountain gorillas of Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Miza’s family lives, make up 380 of the world’s 700 remaining mountain gorillas, and they are threatened by poachers, people who steal coal or lumber from the park, and militias). The photos vary in quality: a few are crisp, but sections of a number of photos look bleached out. Kids will feel the emotional impact, but they will also hear the authors straining: “[Miza's story] also reminds us of the adage, ‘Seek and ye shall find,’ ” they conclude. “And that is the true story of looking for Miza.” Ages 7–up. (posted on 10/06/08)

Smithsonian Magazine annually selects their notable books for children, and our very own Looking for Miza made 2008’s list! Miza falls under the “For Middle Readers (Ages 6-10)” category.

Check out the link below
Smithsonian Notable Books for Children 2008

She had swollen feet at first, then the skin peeled and she had sore wounds, making it hard for her to walk; she’d tumble instead to keep up or cry for another gorilla to pick her up.  She also had a dull hair coat and  pot-belly.  These are all signs of nutritional stress we’ve seen in other 2-3 yr old infant mountain gorillas who are separated or prematurely orphaned.  It has to do with the sudden change of diet, from no milk to all plants; these little guys eat ravenously, trying to take in enough calories to keep up with the group.   We knew the park rangers might ask us to rescue her if she weakened and we really hoped this wouldn’t happen.  We already care for 11 orphans. . . . She may be the youngest orphan to survive such an ordeal.  Though we cannot know for sure!

Also, our vet team currently cares for one of Miza’s relatives, Ndakasi, a 1.5 yr old orphan from Kabirizi Group.  Her mother was also shot and killed in June 2007.  Little Ndakasi nearly died of pneumonia.  Now she is thriving in captivity, but her long-term future is in question.

Lucy H. Spelman, DVM
Field Manager, Mountain Gorilla Vet Project
Rwanda, Africa

This is Innocent. Yesterday I got a call from our rangers at the Gatovu Patrol Post. They told me that they had seen a solitary gorilla in the forest nearby. I immediately went over there to identify which individual it was.

We found the gorilla at about 10 minutes from the patrol post. I was amazed to see that it was Buhanga, the solitary silverback that had once belonged to the group now led by Kabirizi.

It was fantastic to once again see a gorilla in the wild- it was the first time since last year when the rebels took over the Mikeno Sector of the park. As you can see from the video, Buhanga has grown a lot bigger since last time I saw him!

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