Uganda’s first wildlife vet on her revolutionary gorilla conservation

Sat, 29 Apr 2023 04:30:34 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
https://archive.md/fbdfv

"WHEN Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka became Uganda’s first wildlife vet in 1995, there
were just 650 wild mountain gorillas in the world, 300 of which were in Bwindi
Impenetrable National Park in south-western Uganda. The species as a whole was
critically endangered and the future looked bleak.

Then Kalema-Zikusoka had an idea. At just 25 years old, having recently
graduated from London’s Royal Veterinary College, she recognised that three
major threats to the gorillas – disease, habitat loss and poaching – could be
tackled by improving the health and well-being of local people. This approach
was highly unusual at the time, but is now seen as a model of conservation
practice globally.

In 2003, she left the Ugandan Wildlife Service to become founder and chief
executive officer of non-profit organisation Conservation Through Public
Health. She has spent the past 20 years conserving mountain gorillas in Bwindi,
and populations are on the rise. Her memoir, Walking With Gorillas, will be
published on 13 April. She spoke to New Scientist about her life and work."

Via Future Crunch:
<https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-river-restoration-malaria-kenya-teen-pregnancy-new-zealand/>

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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