The Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP, Inc.) is one of the few conservation programs in the world to provide health care for an endangered species in its natural habitat: the mountain gorillas of the Virunga Massif and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The MGVP’s mission is to improve the sustainability of mountain gorilla populations via health monitoring, lifesaving veterinary care, relevant health studies and the dissemination of information.
The MGVP field vets visit the habituated wild mountain gorillas regularly to monitor their health; they also respond to problems reported by park staff. Each year, the vets make hundreds of visits to check on the gorillas. The number of hands-on procedures, however, rarely exceeds a dozen — the veterinary team intervenes only in the case of a human-induced or life-threatening problem.
The MGVP employs 21 people in Africa. The multinational professional staff includes one regional veterinary manager (American), one regional field veterinarian (British), four in-country field veterinarians (one Rwandan, two Congolese, one Ugandan), one research veterinarian (Ugandan) and one microbiologist/lab manager (Rwandan). Fieldwork is done in all three countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.
The MGVP's international headquarters and its director, Dr. Mike Cranfield, are based in Maryland, though the focus of the project is Central Africa. Leading scientists from around the world also provide their expertise on topics ranging from infectious diseases to pathology. Together this team helps provide the vital information needed to protect this fragile species.
The MGVP works in close partnership with the regional protected-area authorities throughout the range of the mountain gorilla: the Office Rwandais du Tourisme et des Parcs Nationaux (ORTPN) in Rwanda, the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (ICCN) in the DRC and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in Uganda. The MGVP also partners with other conservation organizations, particularly the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (DFGFI). The result is a unique collaboration for species conservation.
The health of the gorillas is inextricably linked to that of their surrounding ecosystem — the local people, tourists, domestic animals and other wildlife, as well as the soil, air, plants and water they rely on. The movements of people and animals in and out of the park create countless opportunities for the exchange of diseases and pollutants. The MGVP staff has adopted a "one-health" approach, and provide.
The schoolchildren in a nearby village may never see a real mountain gorilla, but their lives are connected nonetheless. In order to maintain a healthy population of gorillas, the MGVP staff strives to create an umbrella of health for all species that encounter them. The project’s activities include health care for other animals, relevant research studies, employee health programs, capacity building and community outreach.
Mountain gorillas are found in two regions: 1) the Virunga Range, which includes Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda (Parc National des Volcans), Virunga National Park in the DRC (Parc National de Virunga) and Mgahinga National Park in Uganda; 2) the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Uganda.
Mountain gorillas are the only great apes whose numbers are actually growing. The most recent census estimated more than 740 mountain gorillas are living in dense forests in the national parks of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. There is no fallback breeding population of mountain gorillas in zoos. Despite recent gains among wild gorilla families, these animals remain highly endangered due to threats from war, poaching, habitat destruction and human disease.
[Pictures: Lucy Spelman/MGVP]
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