As Jersey Gorilla, myself and my supporters raised over £36,000 for Jersey Zoo from January 2019 to June 2020. In June 2020 I was heartbroken to realise how serious the financial issues were that faced Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust due to COVID 19.

My original JustGiving page which is raising funds solely for the new state of the art indoor gorilla home will still remain active, however I have set up this separate JustGiving page to raise unrestricted funds which the Trust could use during the ongoing crisis. ALL money raised on this page will go into the "Love Your Zoo" emergency appeal to ensure Jersey Zoo remains open and continues to Save Species From Extinction well into the future.

I massively appreciate all of your donations, big or small, and will keep setting myself crazier endurance challenges to be worthy of your generous support. My previous challenges include:

6th October 2019: Ran the Jersey marathon in a full mascot style gorilla suit in 3 hours 53 mins and 40 secs.

11 March 2020: Trip to Uganda to help with the Kafunjo orphanage and schools community project. Whilst in Africa I saw wild mountain gorillas, chimpanzees and many more species. A highlight of the trip was an unplanned 13km run which large groups of local children and adults joined in with along the way!

2nd May 2020: Unofficial Trail Monkey Double Top ultra marathon (during lockdown). In Jersey we were only allowed outside for a total of 4 hours each day. I ran 23.20 miles (37.33km) including 926.30m elevation in 4 hours outside and 16.80 miles (27.02km) including 1,176m elevation in 4 hours inside on my treadmill. Total time was 8 hours running.

25th May  - 29th May 2020: Centurion Running One Community 100 mile event. 25th I ran 14.55 miles (23.42km), 26th I ran 20.20 miles (32.52km), 27th I ran 26.94 miles (43.37km), 28th I ran 27.84 miles (44.81km) and on the 29th I ran 12.15 miles (19.56km), cumulative total time (from starting my first run to finishing my last run) was 4 days, 1 hour, 11 mins and 48 secs.

5th July 2020: Unofficial Trail Monkey Round the Rock ultra marathon. Ran a full lap of the Island (46.31 miles/ 74.54km on cliff paths and trails in 8 hours 38 mins.

20th July - 26th July 2020: Centurion Running One Up Challenge - Olympus Mons Level. Unlike their last challenge this one was not about distance travelled but elevation climbed. Within the 7 day time period to complete the top tier challenge I had to walk or run 21,229m (69,648ft) elevation gain, an incredibly difficult task especially living on an Island at sea level. I was also working full time which meant my average day I was working 9 hours a day, running approx 9 hours a day leaving only 6 hours a day to travel, eat and sleep. This was by far my most physically and mentally exhausting challenge to date.

4th October 2020: Virtual Jersey Marathon (in lockdown). To increase the challenge of the 26.2 mile (42.2km) marathon I rounded it up to a 50km ultra marathon. 

28th November 2020: Centurion Running One Community 100 mile event. After completing the last event in just over 4 days, I upped my goal to finish 100 miles in just 1 day. It was double the distance I had ever run in one go before. After a gruelling 29 hours and 53 secs of non-stop running, falling asleep on my feet and at times crying uncontrollably to myself I finished the full 100 miles.

20th February 2021: PanGorilla run in collaboration with Save Pangolins Official. 8 hour run wearing my gorilla suit virtually with my friend Charles wearing a pangolin suit in Cambridge UK. I ran 37.77 miles (60.78km) and attempted some "Strava Art" during the 8 hour event.

19th June 2021: TMF Group Island Walk. Gemma and I walking on roads, trails, tricky cliff paths and beautiful beaches to complete this 48 mile challenge around our beautiful home. We supported each other physically and mentally to get to the finish line both still smiling in a fantastic 15 hours 28 mins.

2nd October 2022: I ran the London Marathon in my new custom built Gorilla suit weighing approx 8kg with my mate Evan La Framboise. I attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the "Fastest marathon dresses as a mammal (male)" but I was actually lined up at the start with the current Guinness World Record Holder Chris "Rhino Boy" Green! Chris' current GWR was 4 hours 6 mins. He set off like a rocket finishing in 4 hours 16 mins himself and I finished in 4 hours 27 mins 52 secs. 

26th March 2023: I ran the Hospice to Hospice Half Marathon in my gorilla suit and after a fantastic run I incredibly broke the Guinness World Record for the "Fastest half marathon dressed as a mammal (male)" setting a new Guinness World Record of 1 hour 47 mins and 30 secs!!

24th September 2023: After driving with Gemma and Hazel across France, Belgium & Germany (3,027.18km!) I ran the Berlin Marathon in my slimmed down (approx 5kg's) Gorilla suit in 4 hours 41 mins and 39 secs.

1st October 2023: Just 7 days after running the Berlin Marathon in my Gorilla suit I ran the Jersey Marathon in it together with Chris "Rhino Boy" Green in his Rhino suit. I hadn;t fully recovered and was already tired and sore at the start line. To make things even more exciting around mile 17 a cyclist rode straight into the back of me bringing me down. The final 9 miles was a painful and slow hobble but Chris stayed with me the entire way and we finished in  5 hours 45 mins and 28 secs. 

For my "Global Marathons for Durrell" and other extreme challenges please follow @JerseyGorilla on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for updates!

Thank you

Will / Jersey Gorilla x