How? Cell phones contain coltan, a metallic ore extracted from the forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa, home to endangered gorillas. According to the United Nations Environment Program, 80% of the world's known coltan supply is in this region of Africa.

When refined, coltan becomes a heat resistant powder which has unique properties for storing electrical charge. It is therefore a vital component in the capacitors that control current flow in cell phone circuit boards. Fueled by the worldwide demand for cell phones, mining for coltan has led to a dramatic reduction of gorilla habitat and the slaughter of great apes for the "bushmeat" trade.

If you have unused cell phones at home, bring them to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to save money on your next visit. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is one of 46 zoos worldwide participating in a cell phone recycling program. "Recycling old cell phones is a way for people to do something very simple that can help reduce the need for additional coltan ... and help protect critical gorilla habitat," says Dina Bredahl, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's primate supervisor.

In other gorilla news from Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, a high number of guests continue to visit the gorilla exhibit at the Primate World building. Inside the building they are watching adult lowland gorilla Asha interact with her three-week-old baby. Asha and her baby girl are doing well and the entire gorilla troop is settling in with the new arrival. Guests can visit Primate World during regular hours of admission to the zoo, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the last admission ticket sold at 4:00 p.m. each day. -- www.cmzoo.org