Walking with gorillas : the journey of an African wildlife vet

An Inspiring Memoir, for Fans of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Frans De Waal. In her enchanting memoir, Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Uganda’s first wildlife veterinarian, tells the remarkable story from her animal-loving childhood to her career protecting endangered mountain gorillas and other wild animals. She is also the defender of people as a groundbreaking promoter of human public health and an advocate for revolutionary integrated approaches to saving our planet. In an increasingly interconnected world, animal and human health alike depend on sustainable solutions and Dr. Gladys has developed an innovative approach to conservation among the endangered Mountain Gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and their human neighbors. Walking with Gorillas takes the reader on an incredible personal journey with Dr. Gladys, from her early days as a student in Uganda, enduring the assassination of her father during a military coup, to her veterinarian education in England to establishing the first veterinary department for the Ugandan government to founding one of the first organizations in the world that enables people to coexist with wildlife through improving the health and wellbeing of both. Her award-winning approach reduced the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on critically endangered mountain gorillas. In the face of discrimination and a male dominated world, one woman’s passion and determination to build a brighter future for the local wildlife and human community offers inspiration and insights into what is truly possible for our planet when we come together. "Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Uganda's first wildlife veterinarian, tells the remarkable story of her life protecting critically endangered mountain gorillas. In the face of discrimination in a male-dominated world, one woman's passion and determination to build a brighter future offers inspiration and insights into what is truly possible for our planet when we come together. What begins as her enchanting account of being fresh out of vet school, treating sick gorillas, relocating wandering elephants, reintroducing giraffes, rescuing orphaned baby chimpanzees, and testing Cape buffalo for zoonotic diseases, beomes a tale of human health advocacy, as she realizes that in order to save wild animals from extinction, we must also help their human neighbors. When she makes the connection that diseases in the local human communities are affecting gorillas and tuberculosis is rampant in wild buffalo herds as well as among the villagers, she sets off on a parallel path creating a support system to improve health and well-being of the people surrounding Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Thus, the NGO Conservation Through Public Health was born. Since those early days, Dr. Gladys has helped revolutionize conservation throughout the world with a focus on the integrated health of humans and wildlife. Walking with Gorillas is the story of her incredible journey." -- Book jacket