At the Dallas Zoo, gorillas play together, lounge in the grass, and curiously watch visitors by.
Just steps away, a new conservation campaign invites guests to help protect these endangered animals — simply by recycling their old electronics.
The Dallas Zoo is calling on the North Texas community to endangered gorillas through its “Gorillas on the Line” campaign. The Zoo has set a goal to collect more than 2,000 electronic devices.
Through Sept.1, guests can drop off used phones, tablets, smartwatches and other handheld devices at the hip booth near the Zoo’s main entrance. Devices can be in any condition — including cracked or outdated — and include cell phones, tablets, smartwatches, MP3 players, chargers and handheld gaming systems.
Every device donated helps gorilla conservation in two important ways: by reducing the demand for coltan — a mineral that is used to make electronics and mined in areas critical to gorilla habitat — and by raising funds for field projects that protect gorillas.
Linda King, the Dallas Zoo’s Associate Curator of Primates, explained that electronics recycling is crucial for gorilla conservation.
Mining for minerals used in electronics disrupts gorilla habitats, increases human-wildlife conflict, and introduces diseases, all of which threaten gorilla populations, she said.
“Because it’s a prized mineral, at times, it will create military and economic conflict in the areas as well, and that, of course, is detrimental to the animals at the same time,” King said.
The Dallas Zoo partners with Eco-Cell, a company specializing in responsible electronics recycling, as part of a global effort ed by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums and the Gorilla SAFE program.
All proceeds from donated devices go directly to the Gorilla SAFE program, which s organizations like the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, with headquarters in Atlanta and another primary location in Rwanda, Africa, the global Wildlife Conservation Society, and Africa’s Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center.
“The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the number one place in the world where coltan is mined. Coltan is inside all of our cell phones; we have about 8 grams per device,” said Chris Corpus, senior director of conservation and community impact at the Dallas Zoo.
He added that the same areas where gorillas live are heavily mined for coltan.
“About one million phones have been recycled through our partner Eco-Cell, which has helped us to keep nearly nine tons of coltan from the gorilla habitats,” Corpus said.
For more information or to get involved, visit dallaszoo.com/gorillas-on-the-line.