« July 2008 | Main | September 2008 »
I've been back in Rwanda for several weeks. As always, I spent two of them in self-imposed quarantine. Any time one of the vets travels on an airplane, we risk exposure to infectious diseases carried by fellow travelers. Though I wash my hands often and stay away from people who appear sick, it's impossible to eliminate the risk.
For the past two months, we've been working out ways to collect and store saliva from gorillas. In the future, we plan to test these samples for diseases, especially the viruses that cause respiratory illness. This study has been a good idea in our heads for some time. Thanks to veterinary student Tierra Wilson, it's finally under way. Tierra not only designed the research project, she found her own funding to come to Rwanda and run it!
Continue reading "Tierra's Summer Project: Gorilla Saliva " »
We continue to help take care of the three orphaned gorillas in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They include the two infant mountain gorillas, Ndeze and Ndakasi, whose mothers were shot and killed one year ago, and Mapendo, a juvenile Grauer's gorilla confiscated from poachers six months ago. Here's a brief update about each one.
Recent Comments