Deep in the rainforest of Uganda, a male mountain gorilla was in trouble. The gorilla had gotten his wrist caught in a type of trap called a wire snare. Now the great ape was high up in a tree. It was clear he was in pain. If the snare wasn’t removed, it could cause an infection. The gorilla might lose his hand.
That was the scene in June 2025. A team of veterinarians had been watching the injured ape for hours. When he finally came down, the team sprang into action. A vet cut the wire, then cleaned the wound and treated it with medication. The gorilla was soon back to his usual self.
These vets are part of a group called the Gorilla Doctors. They work in three countries in East Africa, where fewer than 1,100 mountain gorillas are left in the wild. The death of even one of these endangered gorillas is a huge loss.
“Our slogan is ‘Saving a species, one gorilla at a time,’” explains Nelson Bukamba. He’s one of the veterinarians who assisted during the snare rescue. “Every individual in this population matters.”
Deep in the rainforest of Uganda, a male mountain gorilla was in trouble. He had gotten his wrist stuck in a wire snare. That’s a type of trap. Now the great ape was high up in a tree. He was in pain. The snare needed to be removed. If it wasn’t, it could cause an infection. The gorilla might lose his hand.
That was the scene in June 2025. A team of veterinarians had been watching the ape for hours. When he came down, the team sprang into action. A vet cut the wire and treated the wound. The gorilla was soon back to his usual self.
These vets are called the Gorilla Doctors. They work in three countries in East Africa. There, fewer than 1,100 mountain gorillas live in the wild. The death of even one gorilla is a big loss.
“Our slogan is ‘Saving a species, one gorilla at a time,’” says Nelson Bukamba. He’s one of the vets who helped during the snare rescue. “Every individual in this population matters.”