I've just come home from Africa, finishing work as a gorilla doctor after a little over 2.5 years.  It was a challenging, exhausting, and exhilrating job.  I'll start blogging regularly here after I get over the jet lag, but for now wanted to post some pictures of several memorable mountain gorilla infants who have been recent patients.  Here they are:

Ntaribi in Bwenge Group.  This infant was born with contracted tendons in his arms and legs.  As you can see, he is extremely agile and playful in the trees.  On the ground, though, he does not move normally.  The only thing the vets can do is monitor him.

Imena in Susa Group. We treated Imena and his mother, Ururabo, last May (2008) for severe respiratory tract illness.  Both recovered fully.  Every once in a while, I think Imena recognizes me!

Mushya in Isabukuru Group.  We treated this infant for severe hair loss.  He was also incredibly itchy.  The source of the problem was intestinal parasites.  Both he and his mother were loaded.  They were treated once with an antiparasitic drug and recovered completely.

We recently removed a rope snare from the infant, Inkumbuza (in the middle), in Shinda-Ugenda group.  I hope he's learned what these traps look like. 

Submitted by Lucy on May 31, 2009 - 8:44pm.

The Newst Orphan: Amani

Though I haven’t met our newest orphan in person, I feel as though I know her. She’s the sixth gorilla our team has helped rescued in the 2.5 years since I started work for the vet project. That’s six too many. All three of the mountain gorillas survived, one of the two Grauer’s did not.

So when Eddy called to say that park (ICCN) officials in DRC had asked for his help to confiscate a baby gorilla, I said yes, of course. Unfortunately, this was all very familiar and we knew what to do. Eddy made sure the park staff had arranged for a place for the new gorilla to live, temporarily, while I got on the phone to Magda and Sandy. I wasn’t sure how many of us should go help Eddy. Much would depend on the orphan’s age and strength—as well as how afraid she was of people.

I also knew from experience that we had to wait until the gorilla was safely in hand. Sadly, we’ve been on alert for orphans that never made it to us. Sometimes it’s misinformation. At least one gorilla turned out to be a goat. In most cases, though, the poachers get away and the fate of the orphan is unknown.

Musyha Update

For the complete entry on Mushya - see my blog on Discovery Channel Quest

or Wildlife Direct Gorilla Doctors

Every hike up into the forest feels different to me, despite the fact that I now have a pretty good idea of the terrain and—at least in Rwanda—the gorillas.  I think it’s because no two visits are ever the same.  I’m bound to learn something new, for one thing.  For another, my mind is usually focused on the purpose of my visit.  If it’s a routine health check, I’m thinking about when I last saw the group, their names, and medical histories, if any.  When there’s a patient to see, I’m filled with anticipation.

On my most recent visit to check on the infant Mushya, I couldn’t wait to get there.  I knew he was doing well, so well, in fact, that I had a feeling this would be the last time I’d have excuse to visit him as a “patient.”  It was time to take him, and his mother, Icyizere, off the case list.  I also knew there was a new baby in the group that I hoped to photograph for the park service.  It’s the time of year when they’re assembling baby pictures for the upcoming naming ceremony.  ...

Orphan Gorilla Health Exams

Here's a recent photo of Mushya.  He's doing great!

His story is now up on Discovery Channel's website - click here.

Here's my latest blog from Rwanda: 

Working in the Rain: Inkumbuza’s Snare 

I have a new answer to the question, “How often do gorillas get caught in snares?”  Two years ago, I would’ve said very rarely.  Now my reply is too often.  Today we removed another snare, the seventh in less than two years.  Our patient was Inkumbuza, a three-and-a-half-year-old mountain gorilla from Shinda Group.

Inkumbuza with a rope snare around his left arm, Shinda Group, Rwanda, 2 Mar 09

Inkumbuza first got into trouble two days ago.  Veronica, the research coordinator for the Karisoke Research Center, called me with the bad news.  The trackers had arrived to find the young gorilla in a rope snare.  I could imagine the scene: Inkumbuza screaming and pulling madly on his arm, causing the bamboo tied to the other end of the rope to sway wildly, while his agitated family yelled at each other over access to him. Shinda Group is a particularly vocal one, and apparently their reaction to this incident was no exception.   

Here's my latest blog post, and a link to where it is posted on WildlifeDirect - with photos!

A Day with the Experts

I recently spent a memorable day with Dr. George Schaller and Dr. Amy Vedder.  Along with Dian Fossey, they helped save the mountain gorilla from extinction.  George’s life is the subject of an upcoming National Geographic film in which he returns to the wilderness areas he studied 50 years ago.  He was spending a week in Rwanda to do a number of interviews.  On this day, I was invited to join him and Amy for a tourist visit to Group 13.  My role was to talk about gorilla health.

George was the first scientist to make a serious study of mountain gorillas.  From 1959-1960, he and his wife lived at Kabara, near the base of Mount Mikeno (one of the five volcanoes in the Virunga Massif) on the DR Congo side of the gorilla park.  On our way into the forest on the Rwandan side, we stopped to take a photo of the area where George had lived.  From our vantage point, of course, there was no way we could actually see his field site on the other side.  But we got the idea.

Here's my latest blog...

Mushya: Infant Mountain Gorilla Improving

Rechecking Mushya

Mushya's Case Part 3: Lab Work and Follow-Up

After a brief break for lunch, Magda, Jean Felix, and I met back in the lab.  We spent the next five hours doing all we could to process and run the gorillas’ samples, but we ran out of energy before we could finish.  I think we also felt a bit deflated when we didn’t find mites in the hair or skin samples.  But we did discover one new, important fact: Icyizere was anemic, too, although not as severely as Mushya.  This meant the mother’s health could also be a factor, something we hadn’t suspected. 

The good news, of course, was that we didn’t find scabies.  Additionally, Mushya showed no evidence of organ dysfunction.  His kidneys and liver were functioning normally, which meant they weren’t the cause of his stunted growth or anemia.  As we thought more about what might explain his problem, we reviewed our findings on Icyizere so far.  Her blood work was also normal, except for the mild anemia I mentioned, but her fecal sample from the day before had been loaded with parasites—and, at least one type does feed on the host’s blood.  A new explanation emerged: maybe Mushya also had a high parasite load like his mother.  A phenomenon called endoparasite migration can cause itchy skin. 

Here's the latest from my gorilla doctors blog. . .

Mushya's Case, Part 2: Hands-on with Icyizere and Mushya

Mushya's Case, Part 1

One-Health Partners

So Much for the Rule of Threes

Sad Week in Rwanda

Forgive me for not blogging over the last few weeks, and for returning with a sad report about the deaths of several gorillas.  We didn’t have the opportunity to treat these individuals, but we did do post mortem exams on three of the four.  If the rule-of-threes holds, the good news is we won’t have another dead gorilla for a while.

Here's the latest from my gorilla doctors blog. . .

Gorilla Orphans Update

Waiting

I wish I could share some useful inside information about the security problems in DR Congo and what’s happening to the gorillas, but I can’t.

The latest news I have is what everyone else can read online: rebel forces have surrounded the city of Goma, the UN peacekeeping mission continues to fail, people are leaving refugee camps with nowhere to go, and many of the rangers who fled Rumangabo station when it was attacked are still missing.  Most people are more afraid of the Congolese army soldiers than of anything else.  Diplomatic talks are under way again.

I know that Jacques, Eddy, Jean Paul, the gorilla caretakers, and the orphans Ndeze, Ndakasi, and Mapendo are okay for now in Goma.  But the situation there is very unstable.  As for the Virungas park, like everyone else, I can only read the ICCN rangers’ blog.

Several people have said they feel helpless as they watch the events from a distance.  I’m an hour-and-a-half drive from Goma, and I feel the same way.