Saving a Species One Gorilla at a Time

In This Issue
Kaboko Passes Away
After Intervention, Starving Gorilla Kunama Recovers
Gorilla Doctors To Receive New Cameras
Video: Silverback Gorillas Face Off in Rwanda

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About Us    

Gorilla Doctors' veterinary team is dedicated to saving mountain and Grauer's gorilla lives through hands-on medical care. Gorilla Doctors helps gorillas by monitoring their health, providing direct care to ill and injured gorillas, and by reducing the threat of human disease transmission.

 

Gorilla Doctors is a project of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project and the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center.

 

Research has proven that by intervening to save sick and injured mountain gorillas, Gorilla Doctors has played a vital role in the population's dramatic increase over the last 10 years.

 

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Gorilla Doctors News - August 2012

The Gorilla Doctors have been in mourning this month. Mountain gorilla orphan Kaboko, who has been under our care since 2007, died at the Senkwekwe Center. Intense fighting between armed forces prevented our veterinary team from reaching him in time. Despite this, our life-saving mission continues:  The Gorilla Doctors were able to save a female mountain gorilla in Rwanda who was unable to eat due to a severely swollen tongue. 

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Gorilla Doctors is sorry to report some very sad news that couldn't be shared right away because of security concerns in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). At approximately 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 25, mountain gorilla orphan Kaboko passed away at the Senkwekwe Center at the Virunga National Park headquarters. His death came as fighting raged between the Congolese army and the M23 rebels less than a mile from the center. Due to the intense battle and speed of Kaboko's decline, the Gorilla Doctors were not able to reach him in time. Read More

 

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In early August, Karisoke Research Center trackers identified a gorilla in Ugenda group with an unusual health problem: Female Kunama's tongue was so swollen that she was unable to chew and swallow food. After performing a visual health assessment on Kunama, Drs. Dawn and Jean-Felix decided to intervene. The veterinary team gave her IV fluids and dextrose and examined her tongue and mouth to determine the cause of the swelling. While her tongue was ulcerated, there were no other obvious problems. Dr. Dawn administered IV steroids to help reduce the inflammation of her tongue but the outcome of this treatment was uncertain. Read More

 

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This month, our newsletter subscribers and Facebook followers proved that small donations could make a big difference for the Gorilla Doctors. Thanks to donations made by nearly 40 Gorilla Doctors supporters in just three weeks our veterinary team will be receiving DSLR camera kits from Nikon.

 

Our veterinarians photograph their patients not only because the gorillas are captivating subjects, but because the veterinarians can document gorillas' health problems and make better diagnoses. Of course, being able to share photographs of the gorillas and our work helps us to raise awareness about the plight of mountain and Grauer's gorillas and the need to protect them. Read More

 

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Silverback Mountain Gorillas Face Off in Rwanda
Dr. Dawn recently captured on film an interaction between the Urugamba Kuryama mountain gorilla groups in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park. At first, the camera shows silverback Urugamba on high alert while his family members rest nearby. Then Kuryama group comes into view. Both silverbacks want to keep their families safe and prevent the other silverback from stealing females. The two silverbacks put on a fierce display--strutting with their lips pursed and breaking branches--but they never come to blows.  
  

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