iGorilla is a software application (app) that is designed for use with the internet and multimedia enabled smartphones iPhone or iPod Touch, which were created by Apple Inc. iGorilla is the first app to be dedicated to the protection of mountain gorillas and is evidence that organizations involved in wildlife conservation are using digital media technology to raise funds and awareness by communicating directly with people who are concerned about the planet’s biological heritage.
The app allows users to access information, in the form of blogs and videos sent directly from ViNP, pertaining to the gorillas and their families, and the park rangers, vets and staff who look after them.
ICCN rangers protect Congo’s national parks and wildlife from poachers, rebel groups, illegal mining, farming, and settlement, and charcoal production.
[7] That job became increasingly difficult during the First and Second Congo Wars, and the subsequent Kivu Conflict,[8] as fighting caused widespread damage to the region’s infrastructure and society.
ViNP’s Director, for example, was sure of the importance of these direct relationships and the tools, like iGorilla, that facilitate them: ‘The survival of Congo's mountain gorillas relies on our ability to reach out to individuals around the world who care, and to keep them informed on a daily, even hourly basis, of the rangers' efforts to protect the wildlife in Virunga National Park.