Gorilla Doctors

Susa Group female Rwandarushya with her six-month-old baby, still healthy.

Twelve days after the first reported case, I made another monitoring visit. The silverbacks were clearly improving, including the chief. Kurira ate bamboo shoots hungrily, having finally changed locations. Rwandarushya’s six-month-old baby cautiously crawled away from his mother. She pulled him right back. I tried not to think of this baby as a future patient. But the outbreak wasn’t even half over.

Byishimo, one of the Susa twins, sick with a runny nose.

On this day, 18 of 39 gorillas were sick, including Byishimo, one of Nyabantidore’s two four-year olds, the first mountain gorilla twins known to survive. Later, I replayed a short stretch of video I’d taken. The sound of multiple animals coughing made me uncomfortable, and a range of what-ifs ran through my head that night.

Though we understand a lot about respiratory illness in people, gorillas, and chimpanzees, we have plenty of unanswered questions. We don’t—and cannot—know precisely how far droplets of moisture-containing viruses travel after a cough or sneeze, or how long these tiny particles remain infectious. (The answers depend on the shape of the microbe, temperature, wind, humidity, and the type of virus.) One thing is certain: by visiting wild animals who share susceptibility to human diseases, we introduce risk.

Many of Rwanda’s younger habituated mountain gorillas frequently approach human visitors.

The risk of disease transmission is one of the main reasons there are rules in place for visiting gorillas. Unfortunately, they’re not consistently observed or enforced. Some guides, researchers, and tourists obey the visitation rules; others don’t. We’ve just been through a series of workshops to restate and explain them—again. They’re simple and easy to follow: only healthy people are to enter the forest, with clean boots, rain gear, and hands; everyone keeps the recommended distance from the animals, currently seven meters; if a visitor coughs unexpectedly, he or she should put on a mask and leave the group.

The gorillas don’t know the rules, of course. In Rwanda, they’ve become so habituated to people that the seven meter-rule is difficult to maintain. The gorillas often walk right up to and past visitors, sometimes touching them. At MGVP, we believe the responsibility for following the rules falls on each individual person (certainly not on the gorillas!) We humans have created the risk in the first place, and we’re equally capable of taking appropriate action to minimize it, like moving a step back.

View of heavily cultivated farmland near Parc National des Volcans, Rwanda.

Some scientists believe respiratory outbreaks naturally occur among free-living chimps and gorillas and that intervening to treat or confirm the diagnosis is not warranted. But when people are the primary reservoir for a virus that infects the great apes—and can kill them, as shown by the chimp researchers—I’m not sure we can call such infections natural. Humans live closer to the great apes than ever before. Our proximity to them, coupled with shrinking natural habitats, increases the risk.

When I meet eco tourists on the trail, I introduce myself and the vet project. Most are pleased to know the gorillas have doctors, and they want to know more. Some say simply, “Thank you for doing your work” and ask how they can help. My answer: enjoy your visit, and, if you have time, find us on the Web and make a donation. Just search mountain gorilla vet or gorilla doctors!

Angolan colobus monkey, Nyungwe, RW

Magda and I recently returned from whirlwind three-day road trip to Nyungwe forest, Rwanda’s newest national park, where we participated in a workshop designed to establish protocols for chimpanzee ecotourism. Magda is a chimp expert, having worked previously at two national parks in Tanzania, Gombe and Mahale. She brought all of her experience and knowledge to share at this meeting. My role was to share the health protocols we currently have in place for the mountain gorillas, as a starting point for Nyungwe.

Forest caterpillar, Nyungwe National Park, RW

During our long drive, I asked Magda dozens of questions. I wanted to know more about how things work at the research and tourist camps in Tanzania, where tracking habituated chimps has been going on for many years. In Nyungwe, the process is beginning with two small chimp communities and one large one. Whereas gorillas live together in stable groups, chimps live in communities of grouped individuals whose composition changes frequently. Like mountain gorillas, chimps are susceptible to human diseases, so the risk of transmission will increase as they become habituated to people.

ORTPN staff Dr. Julius Nziza (veterinarian) in Nyungwe National Park, RW

The workshop was organized by Bill Weber of the Wildlife Conservation Society. He and his wife, Amy Vedder, helped establish ecotourism for mountain gorillas in the late 1980s. Bill understands that establishing protocols for human visitors can go a long way toward preventing problems, so he’d organized a series of meetings to address all aspects of park management, including health. Magda and I were happy to find that Dr. Julius Nziza had just arrived at Nyungwe as the on-site vet. We’ve invited him to several sessions of our MGVP training rounds and he’s keen to learn more. His participation will be key.

Male chimpanzee, Nyungwe National Park, RW

During the workshop, Magda and I discussed the findings of a newly-published scientific paper http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/…. Chimp researchers in the Tai forest (Ivory Coast, Africa) observed multiple outbreaks of respiratory illness in their subject animals. The morbidity rate, or the percent of the animals affected in each chimp community, was high (average 92.2%.) In several outbreaks, as many as eight individuals from one community died (18%.) Respiratory outbreaks also occurred among people living in the research camp. Though her own findings have not been published, Magda has treated chimps suffering from bacterial pneumonia thought to be secondary to a viral respiratory infection—introduced by humans.

Male chimpanzee, Nyungwe National Park, RW

The Tai forest paper examined the source of the respiratory viruses. Though samples were available for only a handful of outbreaks, the results clearly showed that the chimps were infected with one of two types of human-origin Paramyxovirus. The virus strains matched epidemics circulating in people elsewhere in the world, including Asia and North America. This data proves what scientists have long suspected, a suspicion strong enough to serve as the basis for our current gorilla ecotourism guidelines: that humans have introduced novel pathogens into populations of free-living great apes.

Three male chimpanzees, Nyungwe National Park, RW

Tourists and researchers are not the only risk to the chimps (or gorillas.) Disease outbreaks that occur in villages bordering parks like Nyungwe also pose a huge threat. Anyone who lives in the community can pick up an infection and bring it to the park, including staff members. An outbreak of meningitis, for example, could spread quickly. Humans can be vaccinated against these and other diseases, but vaccination is logistically a very difficult procedure with free-living apes—and chimps can move faster and farther than gorillas. Clearly, prevention of disease transmission is the key.

Three male chimpanzees, Nyungwe National Park, RW

With respect to health protocols for ecotourism, we cannot know for certain if a visitor has just been exposed to a nasty virus. Obviously, keeping a safe distance from the chimps or gorillas reduces the risk of disease transmission—and it’s also important in terms of minimizing stress to the animals But under favorable conditions of temperature, moisture, and wind, aerosolized droplets containing diseases can survive longer and float farther than most of us can imagine. Face masks can greatly reduce the spread of disease, but only if used properly.

Drs. Julius Nziza (ORTPN) and Magdalena Braum (MGVP) examine the carcass of a dead monkey in Nyungwe National Park, RW

Throughout our formal and informal discussions at Nyungwe, I stressed the importance of practicing good basic hygiene—on the part of both staff and tourists. Frequent hand-washing with soap and water and wearing only clean clothes in and out of the forest are relatively easy precautions to note and remember. Guide and tracker health is equally important. We recommended that Nyungwe adopt an employee health program similar to the one MGVP supports in the Virungas.

Tea plantation near Nyungwe National Park, RW

In addition, Julius plans to become acquainted with the local health officials so that if there is an outbreak of illness in the community, he’ll know about it. In such a case, the wisest move may be to stop chimp visits until the illness has been identified and contained. Finally, all of these preventive measures must be communicated to tourists, researchers, and park staff effectively and regularly. If people don’t understand the risks, they’re less likely to follow the hygiene and distance protocols that are in place.

Male chimpanzee feasting on ripe figs, Nyungwe National Park, RW

As Magda and I learned for ourselves during the two days we tracked chimps at Nyungwe, distance is less of a problem while the chimps are not yet habituated to humans. On our first day, we found three males feasting on figs. They hooted several times. Magda explained they were calling the females, who weren’t likely to show up with all of us around. I’d never seen any animal fill his mouth as full as one chimp did with figs. Had I not seen him put the fruit in his mouth, I would have thought something was wrong with his face!

Fresh chimpanzee track, Nyungwe National Forest, RW

On the second day, we spent the morning criss-crossing a patch of forest with the trackers, looking for the same chimp community we’d visited the day before. Though we could hear the chimps—their voices echoed from at least two locations—and found fresh tracks, we made little progress for several hours. Finally, we tracked a group of chimps making their way to the familiar fig tree. Three males climbed up to feed, though not the same trio as the day before. Once again, they called to the females; once again, none appeared. Magda and I left Nyungwe worrying less about disease for the time being. But when the chimps do become fully habituated, the risks will increase exponentially.

This post is an update from November 2007 – see Dr. Magda’s bio and new picture of Dr. Eddy at work.

MGVP’s veterinary staff—collectively, the gorilla doctors—is a unique, diverse, and interesting group of people. We differ in terms of our nationality, training, and experience, as well as in the territory we cover. The in-country field vets are stationed in their home countries, either Rwanda, Uganda, or the DRC, while the regional vets and project director move about. MGVP’s regional headquarters is located in Ruhengeri (Musanze), Rwanda for two main reasons: most of the world’s habituated mountain gorillas live in Rwanda, and Ruhengeri itself is about halfway between the border with Uganda to the east and Congo to the west.

Dr. Lucy Spelman leads team MGVP to help a wild giraffe at Akagera National Park with an infected snare wound.

Though a subset of the six field vets will sometimes work together on a mountain gorilla when veterinary intervention is required, this happens only a few times a year. Typically, we are out and about alone or in pairs. As regional director, I initiated monthly regional vet rounds so that the vets could get to know each other by sharing experiences and exchanging information. I also make the most of every opportunity to augment their training, whether we’re in the field or the office. The reality is that veterinary training in Africa falls considerably short of what we receive in the U.S. and Europe. And when opportunities arise for mobilizing the entire team, I go for it, as in the case of the giraffe in Akagera National Park (Rwanda) needing treatment for a snare wound

(see Mission Giraffe entry, http://blogs.discovery.com/quest/2007/07/index.html)

MGVP director Dr. Mike Cranfield also enjoys photography.

MGVP director Dr. Mike Cranfield was one of the first veterinarians to embrace the concept of one-health, or integrated, medical coverage and apply it on behalf of great ape conservation. Mike has led the project since 1999, always on the lookout for ways to build local capacity. MGVP has trained a number of in-country vets, helping several to obtain masters and PhD degrees. Mike has also expanded MGVP programs to include employee and domestic animal health. His greatest challenge these days is raising the funds to sustain all of this important work. A Canadian, Mike currently lives near the Baltimore Zoo in Maryland, where he works as a research veterinarian studying avian malaria in South African penguins. His hobbies include competitive sailboat racing, ice hockey, and squash.

Dr. Lucy Spelman, MGVP regional veterinary manager, and ORTPN vet tech Elisabeth Nyirakaragire prepare for the field. Photo by Julie Ghrist.

I am the American on the team, having grown up on an old dairy farm in Connecticut with a menagerie of animals. Even before I understood that such jobs actually existed, I wanted to be a doctor helping wild animals. After college at Brown University, veterinary school at the University of California Davis, internship training in private practice, and zoological residency training at North Carolina State University, I worked for the National Zoo in Washington, DC. for nearly ten years, first as a clinician and then as director. But after 16 years as a vet, I’d still never treated patients in their natural habitat. That’s when I decided to apply for a job with MGVP as regional vet manager, a post I took up in November 2006. Aside from my veterinary work, I love to write, walk, and read.

Dr. Magdalena Lukasik-Braum on a routine health check visit to Group 13, Rwanda.

Dr. Magdalena Lukasik-Braum joined MGVP in early December 2007 as our regional field veterinarian. Originally from Warsaw, Poland, where she received her veterinary degree, Magda has been involved in chimpanzee health, ecotourism, and research in East Africa since 1998, working initially for Jane Goodall in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, and then in Mahale National Park. She has also served as head veterinarian for CROW, a busy wildlife rehabilitation clinic located in Durbin, South Africa, her husband Doug’s home city, where their daughter Kasia was born in 2003. Magda’s first month as a gorilla doctor was a busy one, thanks to the many orphans now under our care and a variety of potentially serious cases in the field. With her usual warmth and enthusiasm, she plunged right in, working long hours without complaint and quickly becoming part of the team.

Dr. Jean Felix Kinani, MGVP Rwandan field vet, preparing to dart a mountain gorilla, with ORTPN vet tech Elisabeth Nyirakaragire.

Dr. Jean-Felix Kinani is MGVP’s Rwandan in-country field veterinarian. Jean Felix received his veterinary degree from Check Anta University in Dakar, Senegal. He joined MGVP in 2004 and especially enjoys fieldwork with the gorillas. He is also interested in domestic animal health, and recently started an annual rabies vaccination program for domestic dogs in the region. Near the Virungas, there have been several recent cases of rabies in jackals and feral dogs; humans too have died of this disease. Jean Felix is the project’s great communicator. He speaks many languages, knows many people, and has by far the highest cell-phone bill. His hobbies include playing and watching soccer, or football as it is known here. He and his veterinarian wife have just started a family.

Jean-Paul Lukusa, MGVP regional laboratory manager, teaches basic hygiene at Art of Conservation class; photo by Julie Ghrist.

Jean-Paul Lukusa is MGVP’s regional laboratory manager. He received his degree in microbiology from L’Institute Superior Médicale in the Democratic Republic of Congo and then worked as a professor at a medical school in Rwanda before joining MGVP in 2003. Jean Paul lives in Goma, DRC, but commutes regularly to MGVP’s main office in Rwanda. His duties range from running fecal parasite checks and bacterial cultures on mountain gorilla samples to administering the MGVP employee health program. The latter job involves coordinating doctor visits and laboratory samples for hundreds of park rangers, guides, and patrols each year. Jean Paul is MGVP’s most gifted teacher and public speaker. And as we learned when he participated in Julie Ghrist’s Art of Conservation class (www.art-of-conservation.com), he can make even brushing one’s teeth exciting!

Dr. Benard Ssebide, MGVP Ugandan in-country field vet, on a routine health check in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda.

Dr. Benard Ssebide is MGVP’s Ugandan in-country field veterinarian, and the team’s newest staff member. Benard (yes, this is the correct spelling) received his veterinary degree and masters of Science in wildlife health and management from Makerere University in Uganda. For six years, he worked for the Ugandan Wildlife Authority as veterinarian and chief park warden, based in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. During that time, he became a collaborator and friend of MGVP. He joined the project early in 2007 to concentrate on field vet work rather than administration. Benard has a keen interest in wildlife diseases and will begin work on his PhD soon. With a home in Kampala and his patients spread out among dense jungle, Benard travels more miles over rough terrain than the rest of MGVP staff combined.

Dr. John Bosco Nizeyi, MGVP research veterinarian and professor, at Makerere University in Uganda.

Dr. John Bosco Nizeyi is MGVP’s research veterinarian, and a professor in the Wild Animal Resource Management Department of Makerere University in Uganda. JBN (he’s known by his initials) received his veterinary degree at Makerere, his masters of science in recreational resources from Colorado State University, and his PhD in veterinary medicine at Makerere University in 2005. He has worked for MGVP since 1993, when he started as a field vet. His research interests include the use of fecal cortisol testing to monitor stress levels in wild animals. Because JBN lives in Kampala, a long way from mountain gorilla habitat, and his days are full of teaching and guiding students, we don’t see him often. But when we do get together for an all-staff meeting in Kisoro, Uganda, everyone looks to JBN for his historical knowledge and experience.

Dr. Eddy Kambale, MGVP DRC field vet, helps care for the orphaned mountain gorillas, in addition to field work.

Dr. Eddy Kambale is the other MGVP in-country field veterinarian based in the DRC. Eddy received his veterinary degree at the Catholic University of Graben, Butembo, in the DRC. Before joining the MGVP in 2004, he was a scholar at the Technical Institute for Agriculture and Veterinary Science in Butembo, DRC. In cooperation with Dr. Jacques Iyanya, Eddy’s duties include monitoring Grauer’s gorillas as well as mountain gorillas—and caring for the orphans. He enjoys every aspect of clinical medicine, including pathology, or the study of disease after an animal has died. Eddy performed field necropsies on the gorillas shot in the DRC last July, hoping to learn something from this tragedy. Among MGVP staff, Eddy has a wry sense of humor and can make people laugh in any number of languages. At work, however, he’s seriously quiet.

Dr. Jacques Iyanya, MGVP DRC field vet, monitoring gorillas in Kahuzi Biega National Park.

Dr. Jacques Iyanya is one of MGVP’s two in-country field veterinarians based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He received his veterinary degree from the University of Lubumbashi in the DRC, then worked for the Department of Agriculture and Development in the eastern part of the country before joining MGVP in 2004. His duties include monitoring mountain gorillas on the DRC side of the Virungas and Grauer’s gorillas in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park. He and his colleague, Dr. Eddy Kambale, also take care of the two newest infant mountain gorillas in Goma, DRC. Jacques speaks perfect French, is exceptionally well connected and diplomatic, and understands DRC’s complicated political system. As a result, he often accepts the role of MGVP political advisor. He is rapidly learning English, and will soon be correcting me in my native language as well as in French!

MGVP’s support staff, including Leon Ntahobavukira, the house manager (left), eagerly helped put the new truck’s roof rack together.

MGVP’s support staff includes long-time employee, Leon Ntahobavukira, the house manager. Felicien Mulinda, Faustin Nemeye, and Samuel Nshimiyimana work as guards/grounds staff at the headquarters in Ruhengeri. Jean-Claude Rusengamihigo, Michel Mwemezi, and Innocent Barimenshi perform a similar function at the interim quarantine facility (IQF) for orphaned gorillas in Kinigi, Rwanda. MGVP employs five of the seven caretakers who work at the IQF: Amiel Bapfakwita, Dieu Donne Muyambabazi, Jean Baptise Bisenigamana, Innocent Kabendera, and Fabian Bahati.

Technorati : gorilla, mgvp, veterinarian

Dennis, Nancy, Naomi, Dave, and Robyn visit Amahoro Group (RW) with ORTPN tracker Jean Marie.

Last week, friends from the U.S. arrived for a long-planned visit. I’ve known one of them, Naomi, for over 20 years. A classmate from vet school at University of California, Davis, she runs a small-animal practice in Aptos (CA), rides dressage, and lives on a small farm with her husband, Steve. Naomi has often traveled to visit me at work, but almost decided against this trip. After seeing the gorillas, she said, “I can’t imagine why I hesitated for even a moment to come here!”

Friends Naomi and Robyn with ORTPN guide Eugene watch Susa Group (RW).

Robyn Kravit from Washington, DC, the mastermind of the trip, brought her sister, Nancy, and two friends, Dave and Dennis. They met Naomi at the Brussels airport and the group of five flew to Kigali. Robyn arranged everything so I could join them when possible. In Rwanda, we toured the Genocide Memorial, trekked to see gorillas and golden monkeys, visited Dian Fossey’s grave site, and then drove to Uganda and hiked up in Mgahinga National Park. Not only was the experience a lot of fun, it also gave me a fresh perspective on eco-tourism.

One of Susa Group’s four silverback gorillas on November 6, 2006 (RW).

I first trekked to see mountain gorillas a year ago as part of my initial job orientation, joining a tourist visit to Susa Group. I remember hiking three hours up through the beautiful forest, encountering my first stinging nettles, and wondering if we’d actually see any of my future patients. Then I caught a whiff of silverback, a strong musty smell. Seconds later, an impressive male gorilla crossed the trail in front of me. I watched him in awe for several minutes. Suddenly, I felt like an intruder and wanted to leave. I’d invaded his pristine world.

Juvenile mountain gorilla in Amahoro Group (RW) eating while glancing at tourists.

I felt too close for several other reasons. One undoubtedly had to do with my years as a clinical zoo vet: most Western lowland gorillas I’ve treated for one ailment or another do not remember me fondly. The other had to do with protecting the animals from human-borne illnesses, including the common cold. Though our tourist group was doing its best to keep the recommended 20-foot distance rule—if you cough or sneeze, the aerosolized droplets can’t carry that far—these gorillas walked right past us on the trail.

Juvenile in Amahoro Group (RW) with fresh mud on his lips from playing in a puddle.

Now I appreciate that closeness. If the gorillas weren’t habituated, they wouldn’t have doctors. Nor would we even know we had patients, let alone be able to treat them. The trackers are the eyes and ears of health care because they can get so close. Since the gorillas don’t seem to mind a human presence, we vets can observe an injury closely. On the rare occasions when we need to dart an animal, we can minimize the stress—we don’t have to chase it.

Susa Group (RW) mountain gorillas playing, resting, and foraging (November 2006).

Last week’s visit to Susa Group with my friends reminded of how I’d felt a year ago. After a difficult hike, we caught up to the gorillas moving through a dense bamboo thicket. Several stopped to glance in our direction, others kept foraging, a female with a new baby sat down right next to us. My friends marveled at the experience. Why didn’t the gorillas mind our presence? The situation seems so fragile.

Children tending cows on a farm near the Parc National des Volcans (PNV), Rwanda.

When you stand in the cultivated farmland that dominates the landscape around the Virungas, it’s hard to imagine that an untouched wild animal habitat exists in this part of Africa. Once you’re up there with the gorillas, you realize that it’s possible to strike a balance between animals and people, even though the interface is a delicate one. Tourism brings in money that can benefit both, but it also carries risks in terms of disease transmission.

Genocide Memorial in Kigali, Rwanda

Our visit to the memorial was a sobering experience in every way, except for one positive fact: Rwandans do not hide the horrors of their recent past. The detailed exhibit tells the complete story of the 1994 genocide and its history. It also compares what happened in Rwanda to genocides in other countries. We agreed that the survival of the mountain gorilla was amazing, given the years of turmoil.

Dian Fossey is buried in PNV, Rwanda, as are many of the mountain gorillas she once studied.

At the request of Dian Fossey, MGVP was established a year after her death in 1986. But access to the gorillas over the next decade was limited because of the genocide. Even trackers based at Fossey’s research station had to leave the forest. Ultimately, all of her camp buildings were looted and destroyed. Only her grave site remains. The current fighting in DRC has created a similar unstable situation in the Virungas. These days, no one can monitor the mountain gorillas on the Congolese side of the Rwandan border.

A golden monkey in PNV, Rwanda.

There are other fragile species in the Virungas that need protection, including the golden monkey. These rare and relatively unstudied animals are found only in the range of the mountain gorilla in areas of plentiful bamboo. When my friends and I visited the golden monkeys last week, we saw dozens of them leaping above our heads from branch to branch, foraging for food. We don’t really know what threatens their health, beyond habitat loss. There is still so much to learn.

This blog is just to give you some more background about MGVP. There’s lots more at mgvp.org

Gorilla Doctors work for the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP, Inc.)–one of few conservation programs in the world to provide health care for an endangered species in its natural habitat. MGVP’s mission is to improve the sustainability of Mountain Gorilla populations using an integrated, or “one-health,” approach that combines health care, research, capacity building, information sharing, and strategic partnerships.

MGVP employs 21 people in Africa, including 8 professionals: one regional vet manager, Dr. Lucy Spelman (American); one regional field vet, Dr. Magdalena Lukasik-Braum (Polish, joining MGVP Dec 2007); four in-country field vets, Dr. Jean Felix Kinani (Rwandan), Dr. Eddy Kambale and Dr. Jacques Iyanya (Congolese) and Dr. Benard Ssebide (Ugandan); one research vet, Dr. Jean Bosco Nizeyi (Ugandan), and one regional lab manager, Jean Paul Lukusa (Congolese). Fieldwork is done in all three countries and our staff meets regularly for clinical rounds to discuss recent cases and exchange information.

MGVP’s international headquarters and its director, Dr. Mike Cranfield, are based in Maryland, USA, though the focus of the project is Central Africa. Leading scientists from around the world also provide their expertise on topics ranging from infectious diseases to pathology-subjects that relate to mountain gorillas, and the people and other animals that share their forest ecosystem. Together this team helps provide vital information needed to protect the world’s few mountain gorillas.

MGVP works in the Virunga Massif mountain range — the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda (Parc National des Volcans), the Virunga National Park in the DRC (Parc National de Virunga) and the Mgahinga National Park in Uganda– and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Uganda. And all of our work is done in close partnership with the regional protected-area authorities: the Office Rwandais du Tourisme et des Parcs Nationaux (ORTPN), the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN), and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in Uganda.

The health of the gorillas is inextricably linked to that of the entire ecosystem-the local people, tourists, domestic animals, and other wildlife, as well as the soil, air, plants, and water they rely on. The movements of people and animals in and out of the park create countless opportunities for the exchange of diseases or pollutants. So we work together to provide health monitoring and care for park rangers, guides, scientists, and other animals as well as for the gorillas.

We consider diseases carried by any animal-whether humans, cows, or other species-potential threats to the fragile mountain gorilla population of just 740 animals. The threat of tuberculosis, for example, is the main reason commercial farms pasteurize milk. But many local people dislike like the taste of boiled milk. Our DRC vets have done some screening of cows living in or near the Virungas park and, fortunately, their tests show there is no TB in the these animals yet, but it may just be a matter of time.

On a routine basis, our six field visits monitor the mountain gorillas habituated for tourism. We also respond to problems reported by park staff. Recently, these visits have not been possible on the Congo side of the Virunga Massif mountains, though we hope they will resume soon. While we make hundreds of visits to check on the gorillas, we provide hands-on care very rarely-a dozen or less times a year. We intervene only in the case of a human-induced or life-threatening problem. Unfortunately, snares continue to entangle and endanger the lives of mountain gorillas each year.

Orphaned infant gorilla infants also fall under our care. With so few mountain gorillas, every individual is potentially valuable. In partnership with the protected area authorities, MGVP has designed strict health care protocols for infant gorillas orphaned as a result of poaching. As of October, 2007, MGVP helps care for four mountain gorilla orphans and six Grauer’s gorillas, another subspecies of gorilla found in the eastern DRC. These orphans either saw their mothers shot, or they were captured for the wildlife trade.

The schoolchildren in a village near the park may never see a real mountain gorilla, but their lives are connected nevertheless. In order to maintain a healthy population of gorillas, MGVP staff strive to create an umbrella of health for all species that encounter them. Our activities thus include health care for other animals, relevant research studies, employee health programs for rangers, guides, and scientists who work closely with habituated mountain gorillas, teaching and training other veterinarians, and community outreach designed to share information about the one-health concept.