Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Ross Explain Why They Help Save Rwanda’s Gorillas

Ellen DeGeneres May Have Ended Her Last 19 Years of Show: The Last Episode Ellen DeGeneresShow It aired on May 26, but is already taking steps into the future.

It’s to the credit of his wife, Portia de Ross, who received the final gift four years ago on the host’s 60th birthday: the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (DFGF), Ellen DeGeneres’ multi-campus, plus Volcanoes National Park. Rwanda.

Vision: “I will continue his legacy and his work and add my name, which is probably the best thing that ever happened to me,” said DeGeneres, who has been obsessed with primatology and conservatism since she was 12. -Reading of the year for parents. National GeographyIn 1970, a baby gorilla was pictured in a pit cover. “This brave, amazing, walking woman who lived alone on a mountain with these huge wild creatures,” describes DeGeneres, who is still fascinated. “It became a dream to go to Rwanda and see them.”

De Rossi learned this early in their relationship, and “it was hard for me because over the years Ellen has met the most amazing people in the world, but the one that had the biggest impact on her was the one she never met, Diana. Foss. .” For this important anniversary in 2018, De Rossi says: “I didn’t want to give him another watch. She knew the show was coming to an end and she wanted him to be busy with something else he loved, plus she wanted to remind him of what was important to him as a child.

He called DFGF and literally asked if I needed anything. “The CEO, Tara Stoinsky, was quite overwhelmed,” recalls De Rossi. “We were looking for land to build a new campus on,” he said. Does that sound interesting to you? And I said, “Nothing could be better.” “

Fast-forward to February 2022, when the campus, designed by MASS Design Group, a sustainable architecture firm, opened to the public. It offers immersive and educational experiences, like seeing mountain gorillas in a 360-degree movie at the Irmelin DiCaprio Theater, “which is really huge,” says De Rossi. Visitors can also interact with virtual and augmented reality artifacts and reproductions of how Foss lived in his tiny cabin, complete with original notes and a desk. When they first visited her in 2018, DeGeneres said, “I met people who worked with Diane and I sat at her desk and of course I cried because it was so emotional to sit where she was sitting and working.”

So far, the campus has been visited by around 5,000 visitors, two-fifths of whom are Rwandan students. “De Rossi says he hopes for the next generation of conservatives in the country”[Rwandans] than people from other countries.” Degeneres adds, “It won’t be long before we lose a bunch of other species if we don’t protect their habitats.”

The couple’s nonprofit, The Ellen Fund, has made a sizable donation to the campus, and the pair held a 2019 fundraiser called Gorillapalooza. “We invite all our friends, Leo [DiCaprio] “I was one of them and they were all incredibly generous,” said de Rossi. The event auctioned off buildings including the Mother DiCaprio Theater and a computer lab named after her father George, raising $5 million.

“When Portia gave me the gift, there were 800 gorillas,” says DeGeneres, “and today there are about 1,100. It really made a difference, it raises awareness.” His own gorilla trekking experience “proves everything I ever wanted to do as a kid. “Being with them changes lives,” he said.

“They don’t want to hurt you and you can still rip them in two, but they’re these gentle creatures and that’s what Diane showed everyone,” DeGeneres continued. “People treated them like monsters when people were monsters, they killed and hunted them. Gorillas are like us. When they are by your side, you personally see their family dynamics. They are amazing and beautiful creatures. (Gorilla hiking permits cost $1,500 per person, operators like Go2Africa offer enriched experiences such as gorilla tours with DFGF researchers, the Silver Sunset experience, and a private gorilla conservation masterclass, all housed in Como conservation funds. Bisate Lodge, Uber-private One & Only Gorilla’s Nest and the ultra-luxurious, ultra-sustainable Singita Kwitonda Lodge).

De Rossi participated in the 2019 foundation and both will return on June 7 for the opening ceremony. “I’m looking forward to Ellen’s reaction. “When we physically enter the buildings, I think it will be super exciting,” the actor said. As his intimate and emotional appearance transforms the lives of our primate cousins, DeGeneres says, “It really became more than just gorillas, it became my love for the people of the country.”

As De Rossi stated, neither the gift nor its presence is finite. “I’m thinking about moving there,” DeGeneres said of the country. “We are thinking about buying a house there and spending a lot of time in Rwanda because the people are so nice, happy and hospitable.”

A version of this story first appeared in the May 25 issue of The Gossipify. Click here to subscribe.