Snare Rescue in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Snare Rescue in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park By Gorilla Doctors Staff on Wednesday, May 4th, 2022 in Blog.

On Wednesday April 27 Gorilla Doctors received an emergency call from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park rangers reporting that a sub-adult male mountain gorilla in Bitukura group had a wire snare around his left forearm. This is the second snare in Bwindi this year: in early January 2022 a blackback in Kahungye group was snared and […]

Press Release: Conservation Success Leads to New Challenges for Endangered Mountain Gorillas

Press Release: Conservation Success Leads to New Challenges for Endangered Mountain Gorillas By Gorilla Doctors Staff on Tuesday, May 25th, 2021 in Blog, Press Releases.

A scientific study published today in Scientific Reports suggests that new health challenges may be emerging as a result of conservationists’ success in pulling mountain gorillas back from the brink of extinction. The study, the first ever species-wide survey of parasite infections across the entire range of the mountain gorilla, was conducted by an international […]

World Wildlife Day 2021

World Wildlife Day 2021 By Gorilla Doctors Staff on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2021 in Blog.

“On 20 December 2013, at its 68th session, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed 3 March – the day of signature of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973 – as UN World Wildlife Day to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild animals […]

Gorilla Guardians: How We Treat Wild Gorillas

Gorilla Guardians: How We Treat Wild Gorillas By Gorilla Doctors Staff on Monday, February 1st, 2021 in Blog.

Have you ever wondered how we provide veterinary care when our patients are wild and our hospital is the forest? In this post we take you step-by-step through a real intervention from 2019 when Dr. Fred, a true guardian of gorilla health, trekked deep into the forest to rescue a mountain gorilla from a snare […]

Photography & Conservation: A Discussion with Ian Wood

Photography & Conservation: A Discussion with Ian Wood By Gorilla Doctors Staff on Thursday, November 5th, 2020 in Blog.

This month through November 15th, UK-based wildlife photographer Ian Wood is auctioning a limited edition mountain gorilla photo signed by the legendary Sir David Attenborough (now on Netflix with A Life on Our Planet). Ian is donating 100% of the auction proceeds to Gorilla Doctors. He’s also selling a collection of limited edition prints on […]

Growing Up Gorilla Part 2: Kwita Izina

Growing Up Gorilla Part 2: Kwita Izina By Gorilla Doctors Staff on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2020 in Blog.

Kwita Izina –  “to give a name” – is the annual Rwandan ceremony for naming each of the infant mountain gorillas born in the previous year. The celebration first began in 2004, inspired by the ancient Rwandan tradition of families gathering friends to welcome a new baby. The annual celebration honors not only the new […]

The Positive Ripple Effect of Saving One Mountain Gorilla

The Positive Ripple Effect of Saving One Mountain Gorilla By Gorilla Doctors Staff on Monday, September 14th, 2020 in Blog.

Ruterana, a female mountain gorilla in Rushegura group, who just gave birth on August 29th, makes a great case for the importance of treating individual gorillas for the good of the entire species. Gorilla Doctors first started monitoring and treating Ruterana in 2012 for a heavy parasite burden that was impacting her health. More recently, […]

Guardians of Gorilla Health: Team Uganda

Guardians of Gorilla Health: Team Uganda By Gorilla Doctors Staff on Saturday, August 15th, 2020 in Blog.

Gorilla Doctors began in 1986 as a single American veterinarian stationed in Rwanda. Today, Gorilla Doctors employs 10 full-time veterinarians from Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This extraordinary team works continuously throughout the year, on-call 24/7 to treat ill and injured mountain and Grauer’s gorillas. Over the next few weeks we’re going […]

Growing Up Gorilla Doctors

Growing Up Gorilla Doctors By Gorilla Doctors Staff on Monday, August 3rd, 2020 in Blog.

“The mountain gorillas will be extinct by 2000. We need a veterinarian on site.” According to mountain gorilla lore, Dian Fossey said this to Ruth Morris Keesling at the international symposium, ‘What We Can Learn about Humankind from Apes,’ held in California in May 1981. The genesis of Gorilla Doctors began with those six words […]

Silverback Rafiki: Mountain Gorilla Killed by Poachers in Uganda

Silverback Rafiki: Mountain Gorilla Killed by Poachers in Uganda By Gorilla Doctors Staff on Saturday, June 13th, 2020 in Blog.

On June 12th, Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) released a statement on the death of Rafiki, the lead and only silverback of Nkuringo group in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. Gorilla Doctors’ post-mortem examination on Rafiki revealed that the likely cause of death was the result of injury from a sharp device/object that penetrated his left […]