A gorilla. Ellen and Portia | Photo: Instagram/theellenshow
Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi have shared images from their recent trip to the African countries of Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya.
The couple were in Africa following Portia’s birthday gift to her wife (Ellen turned 60 in January) – a donation to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, which will result in a new gorilla conservation center in Rwanda.
The sum is so large it will create a new permanent home for the organization: the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, near Volcanoes National Park.
Introducing the present on Ellen’s show, Portia said it: ‘represents who you are and what you really care about. And not just now, but what you’ve always cared about. What you were influenced by and what has made you the amazing person that you are today.’
I can’t begin to describe what this experience was like, or how much it means to me. I’m so grateful. pic.twitter.com/nuoRaPsVnu
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) May 30, 2018
Portia also set up the The Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund in her wife’s name as part of the birthday gift.
At the time, Ellen called it ‘the best gift anyone could have given me. I love you.’
Ellen is known for being a vegan and animal rights activist, tweeted after a hike in the mountains to see the endangered species: ‘Spending time with these gorillas changed my life. Thank you to everyone who is helping Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.’
She and Portia also met the Rwandan president during their stop in Rwanda.
‘Conservation efforts must continue’
President Paul Kagame even tweeted a picture of himself with the pair, writing: ‘Encouraging to see the mountain gorilla population in the Virungas has grown 25% in the last eight years. Conservation efforts must continue. Thank you @TheEllenShow & Portia for coming to Rwanda & getting involved. #VisitRwanda.’
‘Thank you, Angela and Robert for an incredible day at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust @DSWT,’ said Ellen in a caption. ‘What you’re doing to help elephants is important and amazing.’
A recent Census report revealed that mountain gorilla numbers have increased in recent years as a result of conservation efforts, and now exceed 1,000.
The host of The Ellen DeGeneres Show and the Arrested Development star posted several pictures of themselves on safari ‘somewhere on the Serengeti’, as Portia put it, over the weekend.
Furthermore, Ellen shared an image of her and Portia at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya, where they posed with baby elephants. She also shared the above Facebook video of herself ‘flirting’ with a giraffe at Giraffe Manor in Nairobi.
Portia, meanwhile, shared a picture of her and Ellen eating a ‘bush breakfast’ in Tanzania, which shares a border with Rwanda and Kenya.
Homosexuality is illegal in Kenya, and is punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment. It is also illegal in Tanzania, where it is punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Meanwhile, homosexuality is not illegal in Rwanda, but is generally considered a taboo topic.
