INDIANAPOLIS -- Actor Sigourney Weaver has been named the 2016 recipient of the Jane Alexander Global Wildlife Ambassador Award by the Indianapolis Zoo.

Actress Sigourney Weaver poses for photographers upon arrival at the Glamour Woman of the Year Awards in London, Tuesday, June 7, 2016. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)
Actress Sigourney Weaver poses for photographers upon arrival at the Glamour Woman of the Year Awards in London, Tuesday, June 7, 2016. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)
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Weaver portrayed primatologist Dian Fossey in the 1988 movie "Gorillas in the Mist," and is an honorary chairwoman of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. She also starred in "Gorillas Revisited" for BBC and Animal Planet in 2005.

Weaver said in a statement that, "Our children deserve to inherit a world of wildlife. And if countries and politicians can join forces to save the great apes and their habitats, then there is hope that gorillas will be around for generations to come."

The zoo announced the award Tuesday. It's named for actor Jane Alexander, who received the inaugural Global Wildlife Ambassador award in 2012.

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