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About Us
The Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project's Gorilla Doctors are dedicated to saving the mountain gorilla species one patient at a time. We are the only group providing wild mountain gorillas with direct, hands-on care.
MGVP partners with the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center to advance One Health strategies for mountain gorilla conservation. Research has proven that by intervening to save sick and injured gorillas, the Gorilla Doctors have helped the overall mountain gorilla population to increase.
To learn more about us, please visit our website and sign up for our blog.
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As a 501(c)3 non-profit, we rely on donations from people like you to fund our hard work. Help us to protect these magnificent, critically endangered primates by making a donation.
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Gorilla Doctors News January
The past two months the Gorilla Doctors have been very busy in the field, performing interventions on mountain gorillas in Rwanda, DR Congo, and Uganda. Plus, a new Grauer's gorilla orphan, Kyasa, was confiscated from poachers in DR Congo.
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MGVP Treats New Grauer's Orphan Kyasa
In November, we started hearing rumors about a baby gorilla being held by poachers in Walikali, DR Congo. We often hear such rumors out of DRC, but this time we received visual confirmation that a baby gorilla existed, and his captors were asking $20,000 for him. Our partners DFGFI and UGADEC, with the permission of the Congolese government, negotiated hard with these people, and finally on December 27, little Kyasa was confiscated. He was flown to Goma on the 30th where Dr. Eddy met him and his caregiver. Dr. Magda and Dr. Eddy did a quick examination the next day, and found the 6-month-old infant to be in amazingly good health. He had some serious wounds on his sides where the "leash" was tight around his middle, and had internal parasites, but these problems could be resolved with medication and TLC.
Kyasa settled into his temporary home in Goma with 2 loving caregivers for his quarantine period of 30 days. He passed his quarantine examination with flying colors--TB negative, vaccinated against rabies and tetanus, and blood work normal. Now he has moved to the G.R.A.C.E sanctuary where he will spend another 30 days in quarantine just to be sure he does not transfer any disease to the other Grauer's gorillas there--Mapendo, Amani, Kighoma and Ndjingala. He will be introduced to them slowly after his quarantine, joining their small family in the forest of Kasuo. Read More
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Docs Remove Snare in Umubano Group
The day after New Year's in Volcanoes National Park, Zirikana, a 4-year-old infant male in Umubano group, was caught with a rope snare on his left leg. Drs. Jan and Jean-Felix and a team from the Rwanda Development Board made a successful attempt to remove the snare the following day. Read Dr. Jean-Felix's blog about the intervention and see the intervention video on the Gorilla Doctors' blog.
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You may recall that in September the Gorilla Doctors successfully removed a snare from the leg of a baby gorilla in Nyakagezi group
in Mgahinga National Park. Sadly, the poor
baby, now christened "Baby Fred" after our
Dr. Fred, was caught in another snare in late November, this time around his neck--a serious threat to the young gorilla's life. The quest to save the youngster's life became the longest and one of the most complicated interventions ever staged by the Gorilla Doctors. Over the course of almost a month and 7 intervention attempts, the Gorilla Doctors and Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers faced hostile silverbacks, difficult terrain, and other obstacles but never gave up on Baby Fred. Read Dr. Fred's account of the ultimately successful intervention on the Gorilla Doctors' blog.
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Tackling Respiratory Disease in DR Congo
 Early in January, ICCN rangers in Virunga National Park reported a lot of coughing, sneezing, and nose-picking among some of the gorillas of Rugendo group--sure signs of respiratory disease. Our Congolese Gorilla Doctor Eddy visited the group to determine how sick the individuals were. Sub-adult male Noel and Silverback Kongomani were very weak and not eating. If left without treatment their conditions could worsen to the point of being life-threatening. An intervention plan was hatched and the next day Dr. Eddy and Dr. Jan made their way back to group to dart Noel, who seemed to be the most sick, with antibiotics. You can watch a video of this successful darting on YouTube. Two days later, Dr. Eddy returned to the group to dart Kongomani, who had continued to deteroriate. Rangers report that both gorillas are doing much better since receiving treatment.
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Partners in Conservation and the Gorilla Doctors
The Gorilla Doctors recognize that the conservation of the mountain gorillas is a collective effort involving many different organizations. Indeed, much of our own work providing veterinary care to the gorillas is funded by donations and grants given by other organizations and foundations. Great thanks is owed to Partners in Conservation (PIC), one of our key supporters, which funds the salaries of two of our African veterinarians, Dr. Eddy Kambale and Dr. Jean-Felix Kinani. From its base at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio, PIC raises money to benefit both conservation and humanitarian projects in Rwanda, DR Congo, and the U.S. Read More
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February 9 American Museum of Natural History Lecture to Spotlight the Gorilla Doctors
On February 9, Stephen C. Quinn, an artist and senior project manager for the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York, will discuss mountain gorilla conservation and his recent trip to Virunga National Park in DR Congo to visit the exact site depicted in the museum's mountain gorilla diorama. MGVP helped arrange and guide this trip.
The AMNH mountain gorilla diorama is based on sketchings, paintings, and samples taken during artist Carl Akeley's 1921 expedition to the region. After the expedition, Akeley recognized the threats facing the mountain gorillas, and he helped establish Albert National Park, now called Virunga National Park, to help protect the gorillas.
In early December 2010, Quinn returned to site of the original diorama painting--a view of the Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira volcanoes from Mt. Karisimbi--to paint a new panorama, recording the changes that had taken place over the last 90 years. Seeing how much of the forest had been lost since Akeley's time, Quinn, like Akeley, decided to he would help promote mountain gorilla conservation. During his lecture, Quinn will discuss the work of MGVP, which he feels plays an essential role in preserving the mountain gorilla species today. Tickets for the event, which will be held at 6:30 pm in the Kaufmann Theater at AMNH, can be purchased for $15 by calling 212-769-5200. Advance registration is required. Museum members, students, and senior pay $13.50. The first 75 members to register pay no fee. Back to Top |
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