Guest Lecture: Promoting Gorilla Conservation Through A One Health Approach

Free with Zoo Admission
Location: ECO-Center

“Conservation is rooted in earning the support of the local communities who share a backyard with some of the most biodiverse wildlife in the world.”
- Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka

Join us for a talk with Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, a leading conservationist and scientist working to save East Africa's critically endangered mountain gorillas. She is founder and CEO of Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH), an award-winning nonprofit organization that works to improve the lives and well-being of people living in proximity to gorillas while simultaneously monitoring gorilla health.

From Outbreak to Inspiration

Dr. Gladys founded CTPH after working as a vet at the Uganda Wildlife Authority when a scabies outbreak within the mountain gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) resulted in the death of an infant gorilla and sickness throughout the troop. The outbreak was traced to the local communities living around BINP, and it was clear to Dr. Gladys that the health and wellbeing of these communities were intrinsically interconnected with the health and survival of the mountain gorillas, other wildlife and their habitat. 

Dr. Gladys’ One Health approach and work on behalf of gorillas aligns with Zoo New England’s own work and gorilla conservation efforts, including work to protect Cross-River gorillas at Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary in Nigeria, Gorillas on the Line, and as an active member of the western lowland gorilla Species Survival Plan.

Photo credit (Image one: Dr. Gladys with microscope/ Image two: gorilla): Jo-Anne McArthur