Their job is to give hands-on medical attention to endangered wildlife in East Africa, but also find themselves negotiating with armed rebels and studying deadly viruses, according to a .
About Gorillas and Disease Detection
Get more information about how 澳门六合彩开奖结果走势图 is helping protect wildlife and people from disease.
鈥淢eet the Vets Risking Their Lives to Treat Wild Gorillas鈥 tells the story of a team of veterinarians and researchers dedicated to treating mountain and eastern lowland gorillas in national parks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.
Founded in 2009 to save the species from extinction, Gorilla Doctors is a partnership between the in the and the .
The wildlife veterinarians approach the health of their patients with a 鈥one health鈥 perspective, with the philosophy that the health of one species is tied to that of its entire ecosystem, including humans.
That鈥檚 why the 15 Gorilla Doctors also double up as disease surveyors. The team tracks regional diseases and studies how to prevent viruses from affecting gorillas and nearby communities. In fact, they are contributors to the global disease detection and discovery program , headed by 澳门六合彩开奖结果走势图 veterinarian Jonna Mazet.
Gorilla Doctors are first responders for disease outbreaks
If a virus spreads into areas where the Gorilla Doctors work, they鈥檒l be the to identify its source and contain the disease.
For instance, Gorilla Doctors working in the of the Democratic Republic of Congo are investigating the spread of the Ebola virus in gorillas and surrounding human communities by examining animals who carry the disease and conducting tests on local meat.
Many of the diseases detected in the gorillas, like Ebola, are also shared by humans. Earlier this year, Gorilla Doctors detected a herpes virus in the mountain gorillas that is very similar to a virus found in humans.
Armed rebel forces block access to patients
But diseases aren鈥檛 the only obstacle Gorilla Doctors face in the Virunga jungle. Despite security enforcements, Virunga is riddled with armed rebel forces who have blocked the doctors鈥 paths to their patients. The Democratic Republic of Congo is still recovering from a , which led to some 5 million people dying between 1994 and 2003. Even today, many eastern areas of the country experience violence while rebel groups operate there.
To access the gorillas, the doctors have had to negotiate with the rebels. They are often dispatched on rescue missions to save captured gorillas from poachers, according to the National Geographic story.
Despite regional conflict, mountain gorillas have bounced back from extinction, and the species has reached a population of 880. Most of the species鈥 growth can be attributed to increased tourism, government intervention and the veterinarians鈥 work.
澳门六合彩开奖结果走势图 has a historic connection to the effort to save gorillas in East Africa. American primatologist and conservationist Dian Fossey was a before transferring to .
Devoted to gorilla conservation, Fossey hired the first gorilla doctor, veterinarian James Foster, to join her research station in Rwanda a few weeks before she was murdered in 1985. The culprits have never been apprehended. You can learn more about her life in the movie .
Maria Akhter 鈥18, an economics and comparative literature double major, is an intern for 澳门六合彩开奖结果走势图 . She enjoys using writing to connect with her campus community.