SEVEN gorillas, born in captivity in Kent, are about to embark on a unique journey back to the land of their forefathers.

In a world first for conservation, the primates, Djalta, Kwibi, Djaltam, Kiba, Ama, Kido and Ima, are to be transferred from Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury to a protected area in Africa.

Accompanied by head gorilla keeper Colin Angus and other experts, the animals, all hand-reared by humans after being rejected by their parents, are to live in the wild on the Batéké Plateau National Park in Gabon.

In this pioneering project, the gorillas will be re-introduced to the wild over two years. Having grown up being fed by keepers they will have to learn not only what food the forest provides but also how and where to find it.

For the first time they will be able to explore without boundaries but they will also encounter pests such a tetse flies and mosquitoes and other wild animals such as elephants.

Relentless hunting for bush meat and the spread of the deadly Ebola virus means gorillas are being killed in huge numbers in central Africa.

Since 1987 The John Aspinall Foundation has been rescuing wild orphaned gorillas and relocating them to the Batéké Plateau and also the Lésio-Louna reserve in Congo Brazzaville.

The Kentish gorillas will eventually join a group of 16 wild rescued orphans.

Amos Courage, the step son of wild animal park founder John Aspinall, who runs the projects in Gabon and Congo Brazzaville, said: "The return of these seven gorillas back to the wild is important on an individual level because they will have a chance to live their lives as their grandparents did, in the forests of central Africa that are their ancestral homes.

On a personal level this was John Aspinall’s dream of returning gorillas from his parks back into the wild.

In the larger conservation scheme these seven gorillas are ambassadors for their species and their journey back home will highlight the plight of their wild cousins, who are being killed for food at an alarming rate.

If you want to see the gorillas at Howletts before they leave, you have just a week to do so as they are due to set off for Gabon on Thursday, August 7.

The project is a world first and the transfer of these seven captive born gorillas to the wild can only happen here in Kent.

But such a pioneering project comes at price. The transfer of the gorillas will cost more than £18,000 but to run the project in Gabon costs £250,000 a year.

With The John Aspinall Foundation running at a loss of £2.5m a year, the charity desperately needs the help of the people of Kent to help these gorillas live where they were born to live, in the wild.

The Kent Messenger Group has joined with the foundation in the hope that our readers will help these Kentish gorillas.

Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks are world leaders in the breeding of gorilla and are the only organisation in the world to release gorillas to the wild. By pledging a monthly donation of £5, £10, £15, £10 or £25 you can become part of this world first. A direct debit form to enable you to do this can be printed from kentonline.co.uk/gorillas.