Gahinga, who is the leading silver back of the Amahoro group in Rwanda, and infant Zirakamwa were recently observed showing signs of severe respiratory illness and overall declining health.
Once both gorillas were initially determined to be in need of a veterinary assessment, our Gorilla Doctors team visited the group on April 13, and based on observations, decided that at that point, only the infant needed immediate medical support: she appeared lethargic, with heavy nasal discharge and an elevated respiratory rate between 60-80 breaths per minute. Dr. Noel darted Zirakamwa with 200 milligrams of Ceftiofur.
Our team returned the next day, hoping to see some improvement in both gorillas’ clinical status. While Gahinga’s health had somewhat improved, the infant was still extremely sick, so Gorilla Doctors and Volcanoes National Park staff proceeded to conduct a full intervention, immobilizing Zirakamwa’s mother as well so that our veterinarians could examine and treat her infant. During the intervention, Gorilla Doctors cleared Zirakamwa’s upper respiratory airways, removing all dry nasal discharge, and giving her fluids and antibiotics. As always, we also collected a complete set of biological samples for later diagnostic testing.
Gorilla Doctors was relieved to see that on the day after antibiotics and fluids, Zirakamwa seemed to have improved, and on subsequent veterinary visits that week, our veterinarians saw her nursing and independently walking around her mother. Her nose was clean and her respiratory rate was within normal. About two weeks later, on May 1, trackers requested Gorilla Doctors make another veterinary monitoring visit to check on Zirakamwa and other gorillas in the group who had shown signs of respiratory illness. The other cases were mild to moderate and did not require medical support. The group is now doing well, and Zirakamwa is completely recovered, playing regularly and beating her chest. Our veterinarians breathed a big sigh of relief.
While conducting the intervention, Gorilla Doctors and park staff noticed that there were a large number of snares in the area where gorillas were feeding – 20 of them were found and destroyed in a radius of less than 200 meters. This was a scary reminder that the need for vigilance and veterinary care is ongoing, to mitigate the multiple threats to the survival of the mountain gorilla and author.
