Home

10%

Vital Signs

The Health Story of Pablo Group

By Gorilla Doctors Special Thanks to Drs. Jan Ramer, Kelly Stewart-Harcourt, and Liz Williamson

April 17^th, 2026

Today is an exciting day in the mountain gorilla conservation world:

Silverback Films' A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough, premieres on Netflix — bringing the remarkable history of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and the iconic Pablo group to a global audience. In honor of this, we're taking you into the field for a deep dive on the health history of Pablo group — a gorilla family whose story might have been very different without the life-saving interventions of Gorilla Doctors.

Part 1: The Arrival of Pablo

We begin with the birth of mountain gorilla Pablo in 1974, into Group 5, one of Dian Fossey’s original research groups in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. At the time, Kelly Stewart was a graduate student at the Karisoke Research Center, working on her PhD. Her day started like any other, rising early under the mist-shrouded, moss laden canopy of hagenia trees, a quick cup of hot tea, and then off in search of Group 5 to collect behavioral data. Little did she know a surprise was waiting for her…

Dr. Stewart's first encounter with wild gorillas came in 1972 in what was then Zaïre, now the Democratic Republic of Congo. She was charged by a silverback Grauer’s gorilla (the largest of all gorillas!) and was immediately hooked, recalling, “It was the most overwhelming thing I’d ever been through. The forest shook. The leaves shook and I thought, I want to do this.”

Upon graduating from college, Kelly became a field assistant to Dian Fossey in 1973 then proceeded to earn her PhD from Cambridge alongside her fellow researcher turned husband, Dr. Alexander H. Harcourt. Drs. Stewart and Harcourt served as the co-directors of the Karisoke Research Center from 1981 – 1983 before landing at the University of California, Davis Anthropology department for the remainder of their careers. Kelly has served on Gorilla Doctors’ Advisory Council since 2009.

But let us return to that morning in 1974 as Kelly wrestled her way through the dense, high-altitude rain forest in search of Group 5. At the time, Group 5 was a ‘normal’ size with a single silverback, three females, and their offspring. On this day however, Kelly arrived to find an unexpected arrival – a newborn – the first Kelly had ever seen. And as the first human to lay eyes on it, the honor of naming it was hers.

Watch as Dr. Stewart-Harcourt recollects the moment and how she chose the name ‘Pablo’:

Group 5 eventually split into two groups in 1993. Dr. Stewart-Harcourt once more:

Part 2: Gorilla Doctors + Pablo Group

When Pablo became the dominant silverback of his group in April 1993 (reference 1), Gorilla Doctors had been operating in Rwanda for just seven years — yet the foundation being built would prove transformative. In 1986, the first American veterinarian, Dr. James Foster, arrived in Rwanda and established the Volcano Veterinary Center (VVC), creating a critical lifeline for gorillas facing life-threatening emergencies such as snares.

By 1995, the program reached two milestones: the appointment of Dr. Tony Mudakikwa as the first Rwandan gorilla doctor, and the expansion of gorilla health monitoring to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda — extending the program's reach and impact for mountain gorillas.

One of our earliest recorded interventions in Pablo group was in August 1996. Adult female Puck was suffering from a respiratory infection and was treated with long-acting penicillin. She made a full recovery and lived to the age of 39 before succumbing to cancer in 2007.

FUN FACT: Puck is the grandmother of female Turimaso who was first treated by us in 2009.

Keep reading to learn all about Turimaso…

Photo: Kelly Stewart with Puck in the early 1980s (courtesy of Kelly Stewart-Harcourt)

Part 3: A New Millennium for Gorilla Doctors + Pablo Group

The year 2000 is when Gorilla Doctors truly began to influence the Pablo group of today: Fossey Fund trackers called Gorilla Doctors’ Tony Mudakikwa and Rwanda Development Board (RDB) veterinarian, Elisabeth Nyirakaragire when juvenile Mitimbili of Pablo group was caught in a snare.

At this time, Gorilla Doctors, still known only as the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, was based in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, more than three hours from Volcanoes National Park. Dr. Tony couldn’t arrive until the following morning, so a brave tracker cut Mitimbili free from the pole. The next day, Drs. Tony and Elisabeth, accompanied by Fossey Fund trackers, successfully removed Mitimbili’s snare and stitched the deep wound caused by the wire. Unfortunately, they had to amputate two of her toes, but she eventually made a full recovery (reference 2).

Just five years later, Mitimbili gave birth to her first offspring, a male eventually named Ubwuzu. Of course, Mitimbili had no way of knowing she held in her arms the future leader of Pablo group — and it may never have happened if not for Gorilla Doctors!

In 2006, when Ubwuzu was 11 months old, he became quite ill during a respiratory illness outbreak in Pablo group. His case was severe – there was a chance he would not survive. In coordination with park partners, the decision was made to provide supportive treatment. Gorilla Doctors administered antibiotics via remote injection over a two-day period and kept a close watch on his condition. He slowly began to improve. In the photo series below, the first image is Ubwuzu before treatment and the remaining images show his return to health over the next week.

Nearly two decades later, Ubwuzu ousted Gicurasi as the dominant silverback and took over the group. His leadership continues today.

Ubwuzu in 2026:

Part 4: Turimaso – Then + Now

In 2009, the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project formed a partnership with the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine and became Gorilla Doctors. The organization had grown into an international team of Rwandan, Ugandan, Congolese, and American veterinarians and scientists working in national parks across all three eastern gorilla range countries. Dr. Mike Cranfield was the Africa Director and from the Wildlife Health Center, Dr. Kirsten Gilardi began as the U.S. Director.

Also in 2009, Dr. Jan Ramer stepped in as the regional manager, the fruition of a dream that began in 1985 after seeing mountain gorillas and meeting Dian Fossey. Today, Jan serves as the Chair of Gorilla Doctors' Board of Directors (below photo of Jan with Group 5 in 1985, courtesy of Jan Ramer).

As it so happens, Dr. Jan’s very first intervention in 2009 was in Pablo group — juvenile Turimaso was caught in a snare. Turimaso managed to chew through the rope tethered to the pole, but it remained tight around her right arm. The next morning, Drs. Jan, Jean Felix, Elisabeth from RDB, and Fossey Fund trackers raced into the forest. The rain and dominant silverback Gicurasi kept them from being able to immobilize Turimaso right away, but eventually Dr. Jan raised the dart gun and took aim…

Hear Dr. Jan relive her first intervention:

Turimaso has continued to thrive under the vigilant eye of Gorilla Doctors and has been treated multiple times throughout her life. She was again caught in a snare in 2012, but in the best-case scenario she managed to free herself and no intervention was needed.

Turimaso Today

Turimaso left Pablo group in 2014, and in July 2015 finally settled in Susa group, where she remains today — a calm, peaceful gorilla according to Dr. Gaspard, senior field veterinarian in Rwanda. Photo of Turimaso and her infant in 2026.

Watch as Dr. Gaspard describes her health and her offspring over the last few years:

Part 5: Gorilla Doctors Watchful Care

Gorilla Doctors treated many more individual gorillas in Pablo group over the years, and the positive ripple effect is evident today. Silverback Musilikale was rescued from a snare as an infant. He has been leading his own group since 2013, which is currently the largest group in Volcanoes National Park with 25 mountain gorillas! Dushishoze, another silverback now with his own group, was also rescued from a snare in 2007 while still a juvenile. Dushishoze, which translates to ‘Let us be watchful’ in the Kinyarwanda language, leads a group of 11 mountain gorillas.

“When I last saw Dian Fossey at Karisoke, she said, ‘in 10 years there will be no mountain gorillas left, Kelly.’ She absolutely believed that.” ~ Kelly Stewart-Harcourt (below photo of Dian Fossey courtesy of Kelly Stewart-Harcourt)

Part 6: Conservation in Action

By the early 1980s, mountain gorillas were on the brink of extinction. Dian Fossey believed a veterinarian could change that trajectory — and she was right. Since Gorilla Doctors began in 1986, mountain gorilla numbers have more than doubled.

This is one of the most remarkable conservation recoveries in modern history. Veterinary medicine has been — and remains — vital to that achievement, along with the leadership of the Rwandan government, and Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund’s decades of ground-breaking behavioral research, daily monitoring, and anti-poaching patrols.

Gorilla Doctors is proud to be a part of the health success of Pablo group and all the nearly 800 eastern gorillas across Rwanda, Uganda, and DR Congo under our care. We congratulate Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Silverback Films, and Netflix on this remarkable film.

Now, go watch A Gorilla Story — then take a moment to celebrate all those committed to ensuring mountain gorillas thrive for generations to come.

SUPPORT GORILLA DOCTORS TRANSFORMATIVE WORK

Mountain Gorillas in Pablo Group on March 31, 2026:

Special Note: Gorillas can catch human diseases, so masks are now required around them at all times. Some archival photos in this story predate this requirement and show people without masks. Gorilla Doctors helped lead the research to make this critical change as part of our One Health mission to protect the health of both gorillas and people.

References

1 - Hess, J. (1993). A blackback called Pablo. Gorilla Journal 2: 12–15.

2 - Williamson, L. (2000). Peace, Poaching and Streetwise Gorillas. Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.

Button Label