Celebrating 100 years of an icon and gorilla friend

“There is more meaning and mutual understanding in exchanging a glance with a gorilla than with any other animal I know.”

With those words, Sir David Attenborough made TV history. It was 1978, and Life on Earth would be seen by a global audience of 500 million people. As Sir David narrated, the popular perception of gorillas shifted completely, ushering in a new era of wonder and appreciation that would give life to a global conservation movement.

Those same words were also prominently displayed on the walls of the Gorilla Organization’s London office for more than 20 years, inspiring countless team members and deepening Sir David’s connection with our pioneering conservation work.

Indeed, the relationship can be traced back to that first iconic encounter with the Pablo Group, deep in the forests of the Volcanoes National Park.

Sir David’s guide that day was Ian Redmond, Dian Fossey’s research assistant and future Gorilla Organization Chairman. It was Ian who led him through the dense vegetation to the gorilla family and observed as the cameras rolled.

The plan was for Sir David to briefly speak about human evolution, with the gorillas sitting in the background. But the gorillas had other ideas. An adult female ventured forward and twisted his head before putting her fingers in his mouth. And two inquisitive youngsters were even bolder. One, Poppy, played with his shoelaces. The other, a male named Pablo, lay on his lap, curious and cheeky.

Looking back, Sir David recalls the “delirium of happiness” he experienced at that moment. He was also aware of the immense “privilege” of coming so close to wild gorillas. But before he left Rwanda, Dian Fossey stressed that with such privilege comes a responsibility – to raise both awareness and funds to help protect a species that was then teetering on the edge of extinction.

A lifelong legacy for gorillas
Sir David never forgot his responsibility. For almost 50 years, he has been a leading advocate for gorillas and a valued ally of The Gorilla Organization. He has shared his time and his stories to help raise funds for the community conservation projects that keep mountain gorillas safe from harm. And since he first showed the world that gorillas are complex, social and, above all, gentle creatures rather than the aggressive beasts of the jungle they had once been portrayed as, their numbers have climbed from fewer than 260 to almost 1,100 today.

Gorilla Organization Director Jillian Miller was among the conservationists celebrating Sir David’s 100th birthday in May 2026. She said: “Every time I have had the honour of meeting Sir David, I have been overwhelmed by his boundless enthusiasm for the natural world. Gorillas hold a special place in his heart, and his love for them has inspired his work for more than 50 years. It has been a true pleasure to call him a friend of The Gorilla Organization and we will be forever grateful for his tireless support and advocacy.”