You Did it! You Voted Eugene #1 CNN Hero: Defending the Planet

The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) is thrilled to share a member success story. Thanks to your votes, Eugene Rutagarama won the initial round of voting in the category, CNN Heroes: Defending the Planet.

But there's more you can do.

At the end of the next four weeks, Eugene will go up against the winners of the four remaining categories to determine the ultimate CNN Hero: Viewer's Choice. The most voted Hero will be honored in a live global telecast December 6, hosted by CNN's Anderson Cooper with Christiane Amanpour.

You can vote for Eugene in the final round of voting from Monday, November 12 through Monday, November 26th.

CNN Heroes profiles have been airing on CNN, Headline News, CNN en Espanol, CNN International and at CNN.com since May. The series has raised awareness of important issues and inspiring hundreds of thousands of viewers to reach out and support the world's heroes who are out there making a difference.

Make sure you cast your vote online at CNN.com/heroes in November!

Eugene Rutagarama was selected as a CNN Hero for his brave fight to protect the last endangered mountain gorillas. He is the director of the International Gorilla Conservation Program (IGCP), a coalition of the African Wildlife Foundation, Fauna & Flora International, the World Wide Fund for Nature, and the protected area authorities in DR Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda, to conserve the threatened mountain gorillas and their forest habitat. Eugene also serves as the director of AWF's Virunga Heartland. And he's our personal hero!