no sneezing!!

Gorilla Doctors: Saving Endangered Great Apes by Pamela Turner (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005)

series: Scientists in the Field

genre: Non-fiction, animals, environment

honors: none

review: The mountain gorillas are still an endangered animal despite years of efforts to help preserve their habitats. While the hunting, or poaching, of the gorillas has waned from the protective efforts of many, the threat of human disease infecting the apes is now a rising threat for the apes. That’s where the people involved in the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project come into play. The MGVP is highlighted in this book for the work they do to save the gorillas.

opinion: And in the efforts to protect the gorillas, the idea for gorilla tourism seemed like a brilliant idea. However, because humans and gorillas share so similar DNA, our ailments while minor to us can be fatal to apes that don’t carry around the same amount of immunities as we do. Thus, the endeavor to raise funds for protection through gorilla tourism has essentially backfired… well, almost. That’s why there is the MGVP.

ideas: Studying gorillas, poaching or the spread of disease—this book has it all.