{"id":2000122230,"date":"2026-08-12T13:26:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T11:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000122230"},"modified":"2026-08-12T13:26:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T11:26:29","slug":"ellen-degeneres-returns-to-rwanda-highlights-growing-interest-in-gorilla-conservation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/ellen-degeneres-returns-to-rwanda-highlights-growing-interest-in-gorilla-conservation\/","title":{"rendered":"Ellen DeGeneres returns to Rwanda, highlights growing interest in gorilla conservation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In an Instagram post, DeGeneres said she was pleased to be back in Rwanda and highlighted the growing number of visitors to the campus since it opened four years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPortia and I are in Rwanda. The Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund has seen over 100,000 visitors since we opened four years ago,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeGeneres said she had met many visitors from around the world who told her about their experiences at the campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had so many people come up to me that are visiting here from all around the world talking about how incredible the campus is and how incredible it is to see gorillas so close up in their element,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added that she was grateful to play a role in raising awareness about gorilla conservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, located in Rwanda\u2019s Northern Province, was opened in 2022 as a permanent home for the organisation\u2019s conservation, research and education activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campus has since become an important destination for visitors interested in mountain gorilla conservation and the work of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeGeneres, 68, is widely known as a comedian, television host and actress. She gained international recognition through The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which premiered in 2003 and featured celebrities and other prominent figures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Produced by Telepictures and broadcast on NBC in the United States, the show became internationally popular and was aired in countries including Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, India, the United Kingdom and South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeGeneres has maintained a close connection with Rwanda through her involvement in mountain gorilla conservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her foundation and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund have supported efforts to protect gorillas and advance research into their health and wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, DeGeneres and de Rossi visited Rwanda, where they also met President Paul Kagame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are in Rwanda <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Ellen DeGeneres and her partner, Portia de Rossi, visited the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ellen DeGeneres also took time to visit the mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

American comedian and television host Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi, are in Rwanda, where they have visited the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2000122232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000122230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-37","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000122232,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/portia_and_i_are_in_rwanda__the_ellen_degeneres_campus_of_the_dian_fo-1s.jpg","alt":"","caption":"Ellen DeGeneres and her partner, Portia de Rossi, visited the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1000,"height":1210,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/portia_and_i_are_in_rwanda__the_ellen_degeneres_campus_of_the_dian_fo-1s.jpg","width":1000,"height":1210},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/portia_and_i_are_in_rwanda__the_ellen_degeneres_campus_of_the_dian_fo-1s.jpg","width":1000,"height":1210},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/portia_and_i_are_in_rwanda__the_ellen_degeneres_campus_of_the_dian_fo-1s.jpg","width":1000,"height":1210},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/portia_and_i_are_in_rwanda__the_ellen_degeneres_campus_of_the_dian_fo-1s.jpg","width":1000,"height":1210},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/portia_and_i_are_in_rwanda__the_ellen_degeneres_campus_of_the_dian_fo-1s.jpg","width":1000,"height":1210}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000122230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000122230"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000122230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000122234,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000122230\/revisions\/2000122234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000122232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000122230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000122230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000122230"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000122230"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000122230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}