KEY POINTS:
KINIGI, Uganda - The late Steve Irwin has been honoured by Rwanda in a baby gorilla naming ceremony.
One of the baby mountain gorillas today was named Ingufu, which means strength in the local Rwandese language, in honour of the effort Irwin put into wildlife issues.
The ceremony was attended by several international celebrities, including actor Natalie Portman and conservationist Jack Hanna.
Irwin's former manager, John Stainton, said witnessing the ceremony helped take away the sad memories of his colleagues death.
"I would like to thank you for honouring Irwin for his contribution to wildlife," Stainton said. "I was going to come with him to see the mountain gorillas but unfortunately that wasn't possible due to the tragedy that befell him last year."
Irwin was killed last year by a stingray while filming a documentary in the Great Barrier Reef.
The director-general of Rwanda tourism, Rosette Rugamba, said: "We have every good reason to honour Irwin because of his enormous contribution towards wildlife."
Rwanda and Uganda have half of only 700 mountain gorillas in the world, which attract many tourists to Rwanda.
- AAP
