SAVING GORILLAS!
When it comes to pet causes, Ellen Degeneres doesn’t monkey around! The talk show host, 60, has donated to a variety of charities over the years, but lately she’s been consumed by a new passion project: saving endangered animals — especially gorillas. “One of Ellen’s greatest heroes is Dian Fossey, the conservationist who did much to save the gorillas of Rwanda,” says an insider. “She wants to follow in her footsteps.” She’s on her way: As part of The Ellen Degeneres Wildlife Fund, Ellen and wife Portia de Rossi, 45, flew to Rwanda’s Virunga Mountains to begin work on a research center and campus for the conservation and study of the mountain gorillas. “Since they’ve returned, Ellen constantly talks about Africa and saving endangered animals,” says the insider. “It’s really become her prime cause.”