Mountain Gorillas Content

Chew On This: Personalized Health Care for Mountain Gorillas

Katherine E Kerlin — October 20, 2022 - 7:00am

Chewed plants are helping Gorilla Doctors and ΢��Ƶ veterinarians provide personalized health care to wild, endangered mountain gorillas in East Africa.

A Possible COVID-19 Silver Lining for Great Ape Conservation

Katherine E Kerlin — February 10, 2022 - 12:15pm

Respiratory illness outbreaks among wild mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park have declined since the start of COVID-19, according to a “Correspondence” report in the journal Nature from Gorilla Doctors and the Rwanda Development Board.

Mountain gorillas are susceptible to human-transmitted respiratory pathogens. Respiratory illness is the second leading cause of death in wild, human-habituated populations.

Learning From Gorillas to Save Killer Whales

Katherine E Kerlin — November 07, 2018 - 2:45pm

In 2018, the southern resident killer whale population in the Pacific Northwest’s Salish Sea was at its lowest ever. The world watched in September as an orca named Scarlet, or J50, wasted away and died, leaving just 74 of her kind left. Some wondered if this was “What extinction looks like.”

Wildlife Conservation is Human Conservation

Kristin Burns — July 03, 2018 - 4:50pm

You can't improve the well-being of humans without understanding the connections of their health to animals and the environment.

Mountain Gorillas Have Herpes Virus Similar to That Found in Humans

Katherine E Kerlin — July 13, 2017 - 4:43pm

Scientists from the University of California, Davis, have detected a herpes virus in wild mountain gorillas that is very similar to the Epstein-Barr virus in humans, according to a study published today in the journal Scientific Reports.

Chewed Plants Help Detect Viruses in Wild Mountain Gorillas and Monkeys

Katherine E Kerlin — July 06, 2016 - 4:58pm

Chewed bark, leaves and fruit discarded by mountain gorillas provide a simple way to test the endangered apes for viruses without disturbing them, according to scientists from ΢��Ƶ studying mountain gorillas and golden monkeys in East-Central Africa.

10 Animals ΢��Ƶ Is Working to Save

Katherine E Kerlin — April 21, 2016 - 4:00pm

From fish to fowl, and cougars to condors, ΢��Ƶ research plays a key role in protecting animals from species extinction. Here are 10 animals ΢��Ƶ is working to save.

Mountain gorilla research shows genetic impact of population decline

IET WebDev — April 09, 2015 - 11:04am

The first project to sequence whole genomes from mountain gorillas reveals that many harmful genetic variations have been removed from the population through inbreeding, that mountain gorillas are genetically adapting to surviving in small populations, and that they have survived in small numbers for thousands of years.