Gorilla pack storms Golden Gate Park

Billed as good fun for a good cause, hundreds of people in full gorilla suits ran, walked or loped through Golden Gate Park early on Sunday morning.

The 4.3-mile Great Gorilla Run began at 9 a.m. and ended less than 30 minutes later, when the fastest of the primates happily removed stifling masks to reveal sweaty faces. It was the first time the charity run to save the endangered Central African Mountain Gorilla has come to the United States, having started in London in 2003.



Inspired by the work of Dian Fossey, the Gorilla Organization, with offices in London and Kampala, Uganda, has raised an estimated $2 million and attracted thousands of runners. The charity run in San Francisco had to limit the number of runners to just over 400 because it ran out of gorilla suits - provided with the $100 entry fee.

"This is fantastic," Jillian Miller, the Gorilla Foundation's executive director, said as she watched the runners in gorilla suits head to the starting line.

With more photos and there's a news video here.