This is my last post as a gorilla doctor - I am leaving the MGVP, Inc. field team as of the end of July 2009, though I will continue on as a scientific advisor to the project. 

Dr. Jan Ramer, also an American zoo and wildlife vet, will be taking my place as regional field veterinary manager, and I know she will be blogging, too!  She arrives in Rwanda in early August.  I've included a few photos of my most memorable patients below.  The full photoessay (16 patients) is on WildlifeDirect in two parts.

Icyi under anesthesia on November 23, 2006 in Pablo Group, RW.

Umurava with eye injury on February 3, 2007 in Pablo Group, RW.

Umoja, severely injured, with his mother, Nyiramurema on April 26 2008 in Kwitonda Group, RW.

. . . .So what am I doing next?  My chief concern is to continue to promote and practice one-health medicine.  From my work with the gorillas and people of central Africa, I’ve learned what it takes to make this approach work.  Now I want to apply it elsewhere. 

As I see it, the way to achieve a healthy planet is to meet the needs of all species, including humans.  By making decisions that benefit more than one species, we can create a healthier environment for all.

For example, the health of the mountain gorillas is tied to the health of everything in their ecosystem, including humans.  Healthy gorillas mean healthy ecotourism, which in turn translates into a more prosperous economy and improved health for the local people.

In the short term, I’m going to be a college professor!  I’m sure I’ll learn as much as my students, since all this will be new to me.  For the 2009-2010 academic year, I’ll be serving as visiting Associate Professor at Brown University, where I’ll teach two seminar courses for undergraduates.  The first is “Comparing Primates: From Lemurs to Gorillas,” the second “One-Health Medicine: Connecting the Health of People, Animals, and the Environment.” 

I’ll also be looking for opportunities to work in the field as a wildlife vet—and writing a new book.   

Lastly, I have a new blog called “Animals in Peril” that will be launched on Discovery Channel’s website on Aug 1.  I'll post the first few lines/photos here, so you don't miss it!  The new blog will be about current events in wild animal health, including the creatures and people I meet as I do my work. 

Now I'm off to the Rupununi region of Guyana, South America to see the giant otters and explore possibilities of starting a one-heath program there.  My next post will be from there.