2020-04-01 Smithsonian Magazine

April 2020 | SMITHSONIAN 37

Researchers and trackers

monitor mountain gorillas

throughout their 300-square-

mile habitat. In Volcanoes

National Park, an assistant

supported by the Dian Fossey

Gorilla Fund International can

identify an individual from a

database of distinctive faces.

Martin Ka-

buyaya Balya-

nanziu, a fi eld

veterinarian, in

Virunga National

Park. He works

for Gorilla

Doctors, an or-

ganization that

visits habituated

animals once a

month to check

on their health.

“Poor people are drawn into insurgent militias for

economic reasons. They just want a better life.”