At the beginning of August, seven extraordinary teenagers from the Houston Zoo’s Zoo Crew program spent a few days with Gorilla Doctors at our regional headquarters in Musanze, Rwanda. The students spent more than six months preparing for their trip and their 12-day adventure culminated with trekking deep into Volcanoes National Park with Gorilla Doctors in search of mountain gorillas…

But first…they spent the day with the Gorilla Doctors team learning all about our mission to provide life-saving veterinary care to eastern gorillas in the wild. Dr. Gaspard then trained the Zoo Crew to be ‘health check assistants’ by teaching them how to spot various clinical signs of illness or injury when we conduct a routine health check. They each received a technical data sheet for recording health parameters for each individual gorilla they would observe during their trek – parameters such as coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge, wounds, hair loss or browning of the hair coat.

Then…Dr. Adrien walked them through all the important gorilla health safety guidelines, e.g. always wearing a mask in the presence of gorillas, keeping at least a 7-meter distance whenever possible, always listening to the instructions of the guide, and most importantly, never going into the forest if sick. The Zoo Crew already understood that humans and gorillas share over 98% of the same DNA, which makes gorillas very susceptible to human diseases. They were quick to inform us that these safety measures help keep both people and gorillas healthy! This was a full circle moment for Dr. Adrien who first spent time with the Zoo Crew during his visit to the Houston Zoo back in June. Dr. Adrien was recognized by the Zoo as one of their ‘Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders.’

Finally…Drs. Noel and Jean Claude took the Zoo Crew on a tour of the Gorilla Doctors Michael Cranfield Regional One Health Laboratory where the students learned how the samples we collect in the forest are brought back to the lab. These samples are then analyzed, helping us to diagnose and treat clinical cases for individual gorillas.

Early the next morning…the Zoo Crew – a bit sleepy but very excited – arrived at Volcanoes National Park ready to go in search of mountain gorillas and perform their ‘health check assistant’ duties for Drs. Adrien and Gaspard. In order to find their wild patients, the Zoo Crew had to first hike through the forest for a couple of hours until they found the gorilla family quietly eating and resting while the infants wrestled and played. Some of the Zoo Crew’s initial impressions:

“Awe-inspiring”

“Can’t believe I am seeing them in the wild”

“Unlike anything I have ever done before”

“Super cool”

“Worth the hike”

Join them in the forest with this wonderful video created by the Houston Zoo:

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

The next day…after their gorilla trekking experience, the Zoo Crew returned to Gorilla Doctors regional headquarters to work with Drs. Gaspard, Adrien, and Noel to share their health data sheets and write-up health reports. They observed a range of health parameters from coughing to brownish hair to visually healthy gorillas (also important to record!). They also shared their top highlights and learnings – hear it in their own words:

 

A thriving partnership…the Zoo Crew was thrilled when Dr. Richard Muvunyi, the head wildlife veterinarian for the Rwanda Development Board, stopped by to talk with them about mountain gorillas and the importance of understanding that conservation is a long-term commitment. The Houston Zoo understands this and has been a dedicated partner of Gorilla Doctors for more than 15 years. The Houston Zoo’s commitment to Gorilla Doctors includes support for many of our staff and early career veterinarians (including Dr. Richard!) to obtain master’s degrees. Drs. Noel and Gaspard also received this support and it was such an honor to share their knowledge and expertise with the Zoo Crew. And the purchase of Gorilla Doctors regional headquarters was also made possible by the Houston Zoo!

It was an incredible few days and Dr. Noel left the Zoo Crew students with a big call to action:

“We have laid the foundation, now it is up to you to keep it going for the next generations.”

We can’t wait to see what you do Josh, Juliet, Julia, Olivia, Gabby, Jacob, André!

THANK YOU HOUSTON ZOO!

---