Gorilla Doctors:Saving Endangered Great Apes (Scientists in the Field Series) [Hardcover]

Pamela S. Turner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 27, 2005 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Scientists in the Field Series

Mountain gorillas are playful, curious, beautiful, and fiercely protective of their families. They are also one of the most endangered species in the world. For many years, mountain gorillas have faced the threat of t death at the hands of poachers. Funds raised by “gorilla tourism”––bringing people into the forest to see these majestic animals––have helped protect gorillas. This tourism is vital, but close contact between gorillas and people has brought a new threat to the mountain gorillas: human disease.

The Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project is a group of courageous and talented scientists working to save the mountain gorilla population in Rwanda and Uganda. The "Gorilla Doctors" study the effects of human exposure, document the daily lives of the gorillas, provide emergency care to injured animals, and even act as foster parents to an orphaned gorilla baby named Fearless. Through engaging text and stunning photographs, Pamela Turner takes readers on an exploration like no other in this gripping tale of science, nature, and conservation.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 5-8 -Turner introduces the work of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP) as a group of scientists attempts to save endangered animals in Rwanda and Uganda. The readable text records their efforts to treat the great apes in the field as they encounter poachers, meet with loss of habitat, and face their newest threat: human diseases that can cross species lines. The author follows the team as its members go about their demanding work, foster an orphaned baby gorilla, and visit local schools and villages to explain the creatures' endangered status, and to promote positive reactions to their needs. The whole is accompanied by striking, full-color photographs and includes a list of other resources, a postscript, and an index.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5. Veterinarians in east central Africa who "make house calls--or rather, forest calls" to mountain gorillas are the focus of this entry in the excellent Scientists in the Field series. In each chapter a dramatic, present-tense recounting of a real incident, such as an expedition to disentangle a gorilla from an antelope snare, leads into a discussion of some aspect of Homo sapiens' relationship with Gorilla beringei beringei, emphasizing that threats to the endangered primates come "not just from bullets, spears, or snares, but also from diseases that might have come from humans." Although the photos are of inconsistent quality, the best capture the rugged, unconventional aspects of the work (such as collecting fecal samples) alongside appealing glimpses of vets cuddling an orphaned baby ape. The featured scientists are an unusually diverse group, including black Africans and white Americans, women and men. Turner, the author of Hachiko (2004), is donating half the book's royalties to the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (May 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618445552
• ISBN-13: 978-0618445554
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 11.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,281,834 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My Background

I was very interested in books as a child. I still remember how hard I worked as a four-year-old at learning to write my name because my mother promised I could have a library card as soon as I could scrawl "PAMELA." When my parents made me turn my bedroom lights out at night, I would read by the tiny red light on the temperature control for my electric blanket. I grew up in Riverside--a rather hot part of Southern California. I was forced to sweat through many books, and not just because I was worried about the hero.

The first thing I can remember wanting to be is a children's author. I also loved animals. We had a dog and a big outdoor cage full of doves. My good friend, Jenny, lived on a dairy farm and it was critter heaven for me. We would jump her horses bareback over bales of hay and ride for miles in the hills.

When I was in college I spent a year in Nairobi, Kenya as an exchange student. I didn't know much about Africa before I left, but I knew it had lots of wildlife. I traveled throughout East and Central Africa and saw lions, elephants, gorillas, Cape buffalo, and many other animals. I met my future husband, Rob, in Kenya. He was also an exchange student. We both loved living in another country.

I have a B.A. in Social Science from the University of California, Irvine, and a Master of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. I've worked as a legislative assistant for foreign affairs for a California congressman and as a international health consultant. Over the years Rob and I lived in Kenya, the Marshall Islands, South Africa, the Philippines, and Japan. We have three children, Travis (22), Kelsey (19), and Connor (16). Each of them was born in a different country.


How I Started Writing

My family and I lived in Japan for about six years, and my children all attended a local Japanese preschool. The Japanese mothers at the preschool told me the story of Hachiko. I thought it was a wonderful tale. When we returned to the U.S. I decided I wanted to be a writer, just like I'd planned to be when I was four.(Better late than never.) Hachiko is famous in Japan, and I thought his story would be a wonderful one to share with English-speaking children. HACHIKO was my first book. Since then I've written five more (GORILLA DOCTORS, LIFE ON EARTH-AND BEYOND, A LIFE IN THE WILD, THE FROG SCIENTIST, and PROWLING THE SEAS. Two more books are in the pipeline: PROJECT SEAHORSE and COMET CHASER. Not to mention a 500-page young adult novel called ENCHAINMENT. I've been working on it for two years and hope to have something polished enough for an editor by the end of the year.

On the Home Front

We now live in Oakland, California. I've written many science and nature articles for adults and for children. Besides reading and writing, I like to scuba dive and snow ski. I've been lucky enough to dive all over the world, including the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and off California. I love diving because you can get closer to big animals underwater than anywhere else. About a year ago I began learning kendo (Japanese swordfighting) along with with youngest son, Connor. We are members of the Berkeley Kendo Dojo. I may possibly be the oldest beginner in the history of kendo.

When I write I am ably kept company by my yellow labrador retriever, Genki, and my son Connor's cockapoo, Tux. They sometimes respond to "sit." They always respond to "cookie." We also have a hip-hop rabbit named Shaniqua and a very obese Australian White's tree frog named Dumpy F. Lumpy who looks a lot like Jabba the Hut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating account of gorilla vets at work, July 4, 2005

By 

Deborah K. Underwood (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gorilla Doctors:Saving Endangered Great Apes (Scientists in the Field Series) (Hardcover)

This engaging book follows staff members of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project as they provide medical care to endangered gorillas in Rwanda. Turner combines compelling stories of individual gorillas with clear explanations of how diseases are transferred between species. Kids will be intrigued by the detective work required to diagnose gorillas from a distance. Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exploring an Endangered Species, May 31, 2005

By 

Carol Peterson "Author/Educator" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gorilla Doctors:Saving Endangered Great Apes (Scientists in the Field Series) (Hardcover)

GORILLA DOCTORS takes readers into the amazing world of gorillas and introduces us to a group of dedicated veterinarians who are passionate about saving this endangered species. Pamela Turner does a fabulous job of explaining the problems the doctors face, while giving readers a sense of place for that part of the world that most of us will never see. Well illustrated with touching and informative photos of the scientists and apes.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll feel like you're there, June 6, 2005

By 

Nancy Humphrey Case (Hyde Park, VT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gorilla Doctors:Saving Endangered Great Apes (Scientists in the Field Series) (Hardcover)

A vivid portrayal of important work being done by gorilla vets in Rwanda. Written by a science writer who is also a skilled storyteller, it gives the reader a first-hand look at the plight of gorillas and what is being done to help them. Accounts of charming individual animals bring emotion to the fact-packed text.