Skip to content 
PASSION PURSUITS
The Gorilla Doctor Who Treats Apes and Protects Communities
By Lisa Kadane
The Scene
On a typical work day, Dr. Ricky Okwir Okello treks into Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Uganda to monitor one of the park’s habituated mountain gorilla groups. Okello is a veterinarian with Gorilla Doctors, a non-profit that provides medical care to endangered gorillas across Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In the forest, he watches for signs of illness—feeding difficulties, limping, or abnormal droppings in their night nests—to assess each gorilla’s well-being. “I look at all the health parameters of every gorilla,” says Okello, who has tracked gorillas over 3,500 times during his career.
The Backstory
Growing up, Okello loved animals, especially dogs. Even then, he dreamed of becoming a vet to help both domestic pets and wild animals, and to teach people how to care for them. When he discovered Gorilla Doctors as a medical student, he knew he had found his calling. After an internship he joined the team full time. “It was my dream to work with gorillas,” says Okello, who is now a senior field veterinarian.
Hits
Over the past 16 years, Okello has treated as many gorillas as possible. He’s removed snares, sutured wounds, set broken bones, and even painted fibreglass casts black so gorillas are less likely to pull them off. He also darted gorillas with medicine to treat worms or other illnesses.
In 1984, when gorilla researcher Diane Fossey first asked for a vet to help save the declining population, there were only 248 mountain gorillas. Now, thanks to the work of Okello and that of his colleagues, the mountain gorilla population has increased. A 2018 survey counted about 1,063 great apes. A new census is currently underway to update those figures.
Gorilla Doctors’ ongoing research also helps park managers create best practices for visitors who come to see the great apes. For example, since communicable disease is the primary threat to mountain gorillas—they can catch respiratory viruses from humans, which can be fatal—tourists, trackers, guides and porters wear masks to protect the apes during gorilla treks.
The Takeaway
Gorilla Doctors’ work complements other conservation efforts in the region. Limiting tourist numbers, setting strict visitor protocols, and educating the public on responsible wildlife interaction, also help safeguard the mountain gorilla population and ensure a sustainable tourism industry that benefits surrounding communities.
Okello admits that his job isn’t easy; sometimes he can’t save a gorilla’s life. But the anguish of losing an ape is balanced by the joy of seeing a gorilla he has treated give birth to a healthy baby. Says Okello: “I think that for me, that is the best part about being a gorilla doctor.”
Travel Planner
Book a fireside chat with a veterinarian from Gorilla Doctors during a stay at Volcanoes Safaris Bwindi Lodge. The lodge can also organize treks into Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to spend a magical hour with a group of habituated mountain gorillas. gorilladoctors.org
