Mountain gorillas share approximately 98 per cent of human DNA, making them highly susceptible to human respiratory pathogens. Careful management of tourist and researcher contact, combined with a veterinary intervention programme, protects individual and population welfare.
Habituated gorillas that develop respiratory disease can deteriorate rapidly without intervention, as their lack of fear of humans allows close monitoring but also increases exposure risk. Veterinary intervention decisions balance welfare benefit against the stress of capture and sedation, which carries real risk in wild great apes. The Gorilla Doctors protocol prioritises intervention only when the individual is clearly deteriorating, using the lowest-stress capture methods available. Snare removal teams conduct daily sweeps of gorilla range areas, preventing the trap injuries that cause slow, painful deaths from infection and limb loss.