Before her death Dr. Dian Fossey realized that, with just 248 mountain gorillas left in the wild, the population needed a dedicated veterinarian to treat sick and injured gorillas or they would not survive. Just a few short weeks after her death, Fossey’s friend and fellow wildlife enthusiast Ruth Morris Keesling of the Morris Animal Foundation hired Dr. James Foster – the very first Gorilla Doctor – and he moved to Rwanda to set up the Centre Veterinaire des Volcans.
Research studies show that gorillas can become ill and even die as a result of coming into contact with germs transmitted by people and other animals as we share 98.5% of their DNA. The relationship is dynamic, given the movements of people and animals in and out of the national parks, creating countless opportunities for disease exchange. Also Conservation workers and tourists spend time with habituated gorilla groups on a daily basis. Gorilla Doctors conserves eastern gorillas (Gorilla beringei) through life-saving veterinary care and a One Health approach in Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo. They are dedicated to saving the mountain and eastern lowland (or Grauer’s) gorilla species.
Gorilla Doctors provides emergency care to gravely injured and ill gorillas and to infant gorillas rescued from poachers. Also, they closely monitor gorillas for signs of injury or illness, undertake gorilla health research to direct management and conservation efforts and conduct surveillance in other wildlife populations for diseases that could threaten gorillas. Gorilla Doctors runs a preventive medicine program for the staff who serve as trackers and guides and their families. This One Health approach protects the gorillas and ensures that the people who come into close contact with gorillas are as healthy as possible.
Staffed nearly entirely by African wildlife veterinarians who form teams in the three countries also Gorilla Doctors supports advanced training for African veterinarians who seek careers in wildlife and conservation, thus investing in the next generation of wildlife veterinarians.
Travelers interested in the conservation of the great apes have the unique opportunity to spend half a day at the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Centre in Musanze, northwest Rwanda, where they can learn about gorilla monitoring, and the administration of life-saving medical care, health studies and how veterinary medicine and ecosystem health is taught.