PHILANTHROPIST Adam Murry needs donations to save baby gorillas after his own pockets were hit by the credit crunch.

Mr Murry has built a 700-pupil primary school in the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo.

But he needs another $45,000 to complete a nearby gorilla sanctuary and move the rescued orphans from their “completely unacceptable” home.

“I need help,” said Mr Murry, 41. “I spent a huge amount of my own money last year. But the economic downturn has hit hard and I can not contribute as much anymore.”

The work has cost $200,000 so far and the school in Rumangabo has officially opened. Mr Murry believes educating children about the gorillas is the key to future conservation.

Most of the work has been done at the Senkwekwe gorilla orphanage but the 11 young gorillas still need to be transported there.

They include Ndakasi, two who saw her mother shot dead in front of her, and three-year-old Mapendo, who was saved from poachers.

Ndeze, aged two, lost five members of her family in a gorilla massacre when she was two months old.

Mr Murry said: “We are so close to providing a safe haven for these wonderful animals that we cannot stop now. I hate to think what might happen to them if we do.”

The Murry Foundation’s financial commitments include orphan projects in South Africa and in Nepal and its funds have been stretched too far by the recession, he said.

Mr Murry, whose business interests have ranged from security services to international sports nutrition, has been fronting a group trying to buy AFC Bournemouth from Paul Baker.

For further information visit themurryfoundation.com