New Orphan Shamavu In Good Hands
On the evening of October 6, Emmanuel de Merode, the Chief Park Warden of Virunga National Park, called Dr. Jan and reported that his rangers had successfully rescued a baby Grauer's gorilla from poachers and were bringing the infant to the Senkwekwe Center. After hearing rumors of a captive baby gorilla being held in the Walikali area of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a team of rangers led by Christian Shamavu conducted a two-week sting operation that resulted in the arrest of three poachers and the confiscation of the baby.
Drs. Jan, Eddy, and Jacques headed to Virunga National Park early the next morning to assess the infant's health. The doctors found the infant with Christian in an enclosure at the Senkwekwe sanctuary. Mountain gorilla orphans Ndeze and Ndakasi watched the new orphan from a tree in their adjacent enclosure. The baby was curled into a tight ball in Christian's arms and was looking fearfully at his new surroundings. Christian explained that the gorilla had been kept inside a small backpack for a month. Read More
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Late this month, Drs. Jan and Jean-Felix responded to two reports of snared gorillas over the span of three days in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. First, Maggie's baby, Gasore, in Bwenge group was reported with a snare around his leg. Members of Bwenge group have suffered from numerous health problems recently. Over the past month and a half, two females died, most likely from infections, leaving the group shaken. Luckily, the doctors were able to release Gasore from his snare during a relatively easy intervention. A day later, however, three-year-old Komeza of Umubano group was also reported with a snare.
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PREDICT Staff Tackle Infectious Disease
2011 marked the second year of PREDICT, the USAID-funded project led by the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center investigating emerging infectious diseases in wildlife in Uganda and Rwanda. Our PREDICT staff, who are dedicated to finding new diseases that could transfer from wildlife to humans, have collected thousands of samples from rodents, primates, and other animals living in and around Rwanda and Uganda's national parks. Through partnerships with the Ugandan and Rwandan governments and Makerere University, MGVP has helped improve the capacity to store, process, and test wildlife samples in in-country laboratories. Read More
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Bwindi Mountain Gorilla Census Underway
A new census is underway to count the number of mountain gorillas living in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda. Counting will also be attempted in the contiguous Sarambwe Nature Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo if the security situation allows it. During the last census of the region in 2006, 302 mountain gorillas were confirmed through genetic testing. An additional 480 mountain gorillas live in the Virunga Massif, which is geographically isolated from Bwindi. Our own Dr. Fred recently completed a two-week sweep of the forest with his team. Read about Dr. Fred's experiences and the big team effort involved in counting gorillas on the Gorilla Doctors blog.
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UC Davis Doc Shares Her Rwanda Experience
This month and last, MGVP has been hosting residents from the UC Davis Medical Center at our headquarters in Rwanda. As part of our One Health initiative to improve gorilla health by supporting human health programs, the doctors are working with patients and staff at the local Ruhengeri Hospital. Dr. Uppinder Mattu, a third-year resident currently volunteering, explains why she came to Rwanda and what she is learning. She writes:
I jumped at the opportunity to come to Rwanda and work at an established hospital. My hope was that with limited diagnostic testing, I could improve my physical exam skills. I also expected to see interesting pathology. Read More
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Meet New Board Member Deborah Dunham
We'd like to introduce one of our newest Advisory Board Members, Deborah L. Dunham, of Davis, California. When asked about her connection to mountain gorillas, here is what she had to say: "I can't imagine anyone spending time looking into the eyes of a mountain gorilla and not feeling some special connection. It's an experience unlike anything else and difficult to put into words. How do you explain to anyone what it was like to sit on the side of a spectacular mountain in Rwanda with mountain gorillas and feel as comfortable as though you were with relatives on a Sunday picnic?" Read More
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