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Go wild with Jersey's colourful new Gorilla troop

BBC Gorilla statue in front of lighthouseBBC
The vibrant statues aim to encourage islanders and tourists to get out and explore Jersey

An art trail made up of dozens of colourful gorillas has been erected across Jersey.

Go Wild Gorillas consists of 40 uniquely striking statues of the great apes which have been placed around the channel island.

The installation was organised by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and UK community art project Wild in Art.

The art trail aims to raise money for Jersey Zoo's resident western-lowland gorillas.

Gorilla in front of beach and tower
Durrell hopes to sell the artworks to raise money for Jersey Zoo

Each of the statues was designed by local and international artists.

George family with bikes
The George family in front of Amy Bourbon's piece, which is based on the colour of distinctive Jersey granite

Amy Bourbon based her design on the colours and patterns found in local granite.

The local artist said: "The Jersey granite is such a big thing for me, it's something I've always known. I've scraped my legs on it and climbed on it since I was tiny."

Gorilla statue in front of beach
Michael Harris' design was created with the idea of "protecting the environment" in mind

Michael Harris' design was inspired by the problem of oceanic pollution. He came up with the idea after watching a documentary on sea turtles consuming plastic instead of jellyfish.

"It gave me an opportunity to voice some feelings about the environment," he added.

Alamy Gorilla in front of hillAlamy
Each of the 40 colourful statues has a unique design by a different artist

The statues have all been 'adopted' by a local business and will be sold off at the end of the 11-week installation.