The Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP) is dedicated to saving the lives of critically-endangered mountain gorillas. Our international team of veterinarians, the Gorilla Doctors, is the only group providing wild mountain gorillas with direct, hands-on care.
Our Patients
With only about 780 mountain gorillas left in the world today, we believe it is critical to ensure the health and well being of every individual possible. About 480 individuals live in the Virunga Volcanoes Massif, which combines Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, DR Congo’s Virunga National Park, and Uganda’s Mgahinga National Park. Another 302 animals live in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. In addition, we also monitor the health of Grauer’s or eastern lowland gorillas of eastern DR Congo.
Health Risks
The developed land surrounding the national parks where gorillas live is some of the most densely populated in Africa. As a result of intense human activity near and inside the parks, gorillas face numerous threats including poaching and habitat loss. Because gorillas share 98.5% of their genes with humans, their greatest health threat may come from infectious human-borne diseases.
Gorilla Health Care
The Gorilla Doctors regularly monitor the health of gorilla groups to ensure the early detection of disease and injury. When gorillas suffer from human-induced or life-threatening trauma or disease, the Gorilla Doctors stage medical interventions to save their lives. While circumstances vary for each case, generally animals suffering from infectious disease are darted with antibiotics and injured animals are anesthetized and treated in the forest.
One Health
We recognize that the health of the gorillas is inextricably linked to that of the entire ecosystem, so we have established a holistic Mountain Gorilla One Health Program in partnership with the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center. The program seeks to further protect gorillas by supporting health programs for people and their animals living and working in and around gorilla habitat.
Orphans
Sadly, as a result of poaching and the illegal trade of animals, the Gorilla Doctors treat and care for several confiscated gorilla orphans. In DR Congo, we treat four mountain gorilla orphans, Ndeze, Ndakasi, Maisha, and Kaboko, at ICCN's Senkwekwe Center. We also provide for the recently confiscated mountain gorilla infant Ihirwe our orphan facility in Rwanda.
PREDICT
Thanks to a USAID grant awarded to the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center, the MGVP is at the forefront of a global campaign to identify the emergence of new infectious diseases in wildlife that could pose a major threat to human health. Gorilla Doctors in Rwanda and Uganda are leading the field work, collecting blood, saliva, and fecal samples from rodents, primates, bats, and birds in places where these species come into close contact with people.
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