"Alien" star promotes gorilla rescue project in DR Congo

       Actress Sigourney Weaver said on Saturday that orphaned gorillas desperately need a permanent rescue and rehabilitation centre that's currently being built in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
       The Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center (Grace) is set to open in March, about a year after construction began. It's a joint project of the Atlanta-based Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and several other organisations.
       Fossey, a Californian who was killed in 1985, made researching and rescuing the African gorilla population her life's mission. She lived among the rare mountain gorillas and observed their behaviour over roughly 10 years at Karisoke, a research camp she established in Rwanda.
       Ms Weaver played Fossey in the 1988 movie Gorillas in the Mist and is honorary chair of the fund. While filming, Ms Weaver said she spent many days with gorillas.
       "These little gorillas just steal your heart. They're very sensitive creatures,"she said."So it's no surprise that this is a very demanding and ambitious project,the Grace Center, but we need it."
       Ms Weaver was at Atlanta's Woodruff Arts Center Saturday to talk about the project.Gorilla's in the Mist will be shown on a big screen for the first time in about 20 years at Woodruff on Oct 17 as part of fundraising efforts.
       The centre will house orphaned gorillas who may have behavioural, develop mental, physical or psychological problems after being rescued from poachers.
       Ms Weaver said the centre aims to care for and rehabilitate the gorillas to the point that they may be able to survive in the wild, instead of living out their lives in captivity.
       The other organisations partnering with the gorilla fund in this project are the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance, Disney's Animal Kingdom, the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the national park authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.