WED Legacy Gorilla Diaries

Last year, the eyes of the world were on Rwanda as it hosted World Environment Day. As part of the event, the WED Global Community was given three wild baby gorillas to name.

In Rwandan culture, giving names to human babies, in a ceremonial style, is a long standing tradition. And the people of Rwanda also bestow this tradition on the mountain gorillas, a testament to their beloved status. On the practical side, names also ease the identification of individuals in habituated groups which helps with research, medical care and interest from gorilla enthusiasts.

Each June in Volcanoes National Park, thousands of people from every walk of life come together to take part in the Kwita Izina name giving ceremony. On World Environment Day 2010, UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner, Goodwill Ambassador Don Cheadle and Climate Hero Luo Hong each gave name to one of the baby gorillas.

To select the names, WED hosted an on-line competition with a people’s and kid’s choice category. Zoya, meaning “light” in many languages, and Waka Waka, meaning “spirited” and “to lift up” in Swahili were chosen respectively. The final name, Legacy, was selected by UNEP to mark the launch of the WED Legacy Project in which $10 was contributed for every environmental activity registered, resulting in close to $100,000 for gorilla protection in the host country.

In this 3-part diary, we trek to the mountain gorillas’ jungle home to introduce you to these special babies.

Day 1: Baby Legacy, named by UNEP to mark the launch of of the WED Legacy Project.

Day 2: Baby Waka Waka, named by kids around the world and announced by UNEP Climate Hero, Luo Hong.

Day 3: Baby Zoya, named by people around the world and announced by Goodwill Ambassador, Don Cheadle.