"I didn’t set out to be a gorilla man; I just wanted to get back to Africa. But whenever I spend time with them, I quickly fall under their spell."
Humankind’s love of gorillas has long been reflected in literature and films—Tarzan, King Kong, The Jungle Book, Gorillas in the Mist—and their popularity continues to grow. But due to climate change and poaching, only a few hundred mountain gorillas remain, restricted to just two isolated highland areas in the border region of Uganda, Rwanda, and Congo. Since there are none in captivity, their future depends on their survival in the wild.
Greg Cummings was proud, if a little apprehensive, to be signed in 1991 as the executive director of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund UK. In less than two years, he’d gone from West End bartender to executive director of an international organization devoted to saving “the greatest of the great apes,” as its founder, Dian Fossey, described them.
In Gorilla Tactics, Cummings shares his fascinating experiences as a “wildlife Robin Hood”—raising money from the rich and famous and redistributing it to endangered gorillas and their habitats—during his seventeen years leading the organization. Moving from boardrooms in Manhattan and London to mountain treks in Rwanda and the Congo, including during the Rwandan Civil War, he met and enlisted the help of celebrities and activists such as Douglas Adams, Arthur C. Clarke, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Gates, and Leonardo DiCaprio, work that continues to this day through his Blue Gorilla Giving Consultancy.
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“Greg Cummings is so like a Gorilla. He is a rare being, with a palpable wildness, an intimidating strength and a soulful compassion. All of these qualities along with his fierce convictions are embodied in this wildly entertaining, fascinating and inspirational memoir.”
– Daryl Hannah, actor and environmental activist
“Gorilla Tactics is the remarkable journey of an inveterate hustler, moving from the universe of Arthur C. Clarke to the volcanoes of Virunga. Greg Cummings pursues the very rich and the very famous, always for one single goal, his passion and raison d’être, the survival of the gorilla. This is an extraordinary account of an extraordinary life.”
—Peter Gabriel, musician
“Trekking gorillas with Cummings is an enlightening experience. His skill as a conservationist and knowledge of Africa, and of what works and doesn’t work, are a boon to the cause.”
—Tony Robbins, author and global entrepreneur
“Gorilla Tactics is an important contribution to understanding what really goes on both in collecting the funds for so-called conservation projects and in the greed and power struggles within and between various agencies. It gets to the heart of what is really meant by conservation management, for humanity as well as rare species.”
—Dr. Alan Goodall, first director of Karisoke Research Station, 1987–1989
“Thanks to an international and nomadic upbringing, Cummings discovered he was extremely adept at talking to people, especially when it came to soliciting money for special causes. He gave up his career as a bartender to become a nonprofit fundraiser for various interests, eventually becoming, in his late twenties, the director of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund UK. This entertaining memoir documents Cummings’ experiences, from brainstorming sessions with Sigourney Weaver (of Gorillas in the Mist fame), to breathtaking experiences with silverbacks in the wild, to coordinating international conservation efforts across countries in the midst of war zones. Cummings excels at recreating terrifying, surreal, and ridiculous moments and deftly introduces an array of characters, including friends, colleagues, celebrities, and primates. Descriptions of schmoozing with heiresses, fawning over foundation directors, swinging fundraising deals with everyone from Hollywood moguls to NASA representatives mingle with heartrending scenes of suffering Cummings witnessed in Africa, including the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, war-induced deforestation, and circumstances of abject poverty. He candidly reports successes and failures both personal and professional, including his own midlife crisis. The result is a satisfying story about an exceptional life, narrated by a congenial writer.”
Celebrity Endorsements
“Gorilla Tactics is the remarkable journey of an inveterate hustler, moving from the universe of Arthur C. Clarke to the volcanoes of Virunga. Greg Cummings pursues the very rich and the very famous, always for one single goal, his passion and raison d’être, the survival of the… pic.twitter.com/lMPsJWSHE2
— Peter Gabriel (@itspetergabriel) March 11, 2024
“Welcome to our new client, Greg Cummings! We are excited to welcome him to Langtons International Agency. Greg submitted his proposal for his new book “Gorilla Tactics: How to Save a Species” which we took on immediately. This stunning biographical book explores the story of how Cummings and his wife Jillian have spent two decades ‘raising money from the rich and famous in Mayfair, Manhattan and Malibu and disbursing the funds to poor communities and to the upkeep of the gorilla habitats in Africa as seen by Dian Fossey.'” – Linda Langton, President, Langtons International Agency, New York City.
Greg Cummings has been featured in international publications such as the Guardian, the Ecologist, and Sea Angler. In 2002 his organization was awarded the BBC Animal Awards’ International Award for Outstanding Work in Conservation. A fundraiser since 1990, Cummings has raised money in the United States, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Italy, and Canada for causes ranging from wildlife conservation to mental health. As director of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund UK, he set up dozens of innovative, grassroots projects in troubled parts of the world—many of which are self-sustaining to this day. His global perspective has given him an eye for where the next crisis might arise—and how to thwart it.
ARTICLES
‘For a Lifelong Homeless Traveler, Music Marks the Place‘ Perspective Travel, Dec 2023
‘Malindi, Kenya: Worth the Slog’ GO Nomad, Nov 2022
‘Billfish Fever in Malindi’ Sea Angler, Feb 2018
‘Johnny Oceans: Lie or Legend?’ The Flamingo Sun, Sep 2013
‘Conservation in the Mountains of Uganda’ The Ecologist, Dec 2012
‘Trekking with gorillas in central Africa‘ The Guardian, Nov 2012
BOOKS
Gorilla Tactics (Chicago Review Press, 2024)
Pirates (Cutting Edge Press, 2014)
Gorillaland (Cutting Edge Press, 2012)
BLOGS
Experienced writer
Greg, who first published in the Singapore Monitor in 1985, is an experienced jobbing writer who applies skill, acumen and his perspective as a Third Culture Kid to a broad range of topics. His interests are legion. Whether listening to World Music dance mixes or a pair of lions bringing down a buffalo at dawn, whether tasting Sicilian street food in Palermo, clams in Manhattan, or sushi in Los Cabos, whether tracking disturbing trends in geopolitics or mountain gorillas ranging through central Africa’s rainforests, Greg is tuned to a rare frequency. With his finger on the planet’s pulse, he has a global view. Email him.
A Sample of Greg's photos
To see more of his photos, check out Greg’s portfolio
Gorilla Greg in the media
In December 2021 Greg was interviewed by Vanislarts about his writing.
Listen (above) as Robyn Burns of CBC Victoria’s “All Points West” interviews Greg about his career as a conservationist and safari guide.
Apes in Danger, a three part BBC documentary that takes a definitive look at the global crises facing the world’s last great apes, aired in the UK in 2006. The series’ episode featuring Greg’s campaign to mitigate the threat that coltan mining posed on gorillas in the Congo drew its highest viewer ratings.
In March 2006, to mark World Water Day, Greg took Daryl Hannah to meet gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, and she later opened a new water cistern at a school. The trip was filmed for Richard Bangs Adventures.
In 2002, Greg launched a campaign to mitigate the impact that coltan mining was having on the Eastern lowland gorillas in the Congo. He subsequently recruited Leonardo DiCaprio to lead the campaign, and created the Durban Process, an inventive forum involving all sides of the conflict, to save gorillas.
Designer Storm Thorgerson, best known for his album cover artwork for Pink Floyd, Genesis, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones, made this film of Arthur C. Clarke delivering a goodwill message which was shown at the premiere of the movie CONGO at the Empire Leicester Square, London June 1995.
A selection of images that illustrate 'Gorilla Tactics'
