In a special half-hour show, CNN’s Call to Earth meets Ugandan conservationist Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, a trailblazer who has dedicated her life to protecting mountain gorillas while building a conservation model where both humans and wildlife can thrive.
Nestled in southwestern Uganda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one of Africa’s most biodiverse ecosystems. It shelters hundreds of bird species, reptiles, mammals, and almost half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas. For three decades, Dr. Kalema-Zikusoka has walked among gorillas, monitoring their health and safeguarding their future.
“The journey that the gorillas have been on in the past 30 years is a beacon of hope in the world of conservation,” she tells CNN. “The gorillas have really transformed Uganda and brought conservation and tourism back on the map.”
Uganda, known as the Pearl of Africa for its rich wildlife, suffered devastating losses during Idi Amin’s brutal regime in the 1970s. That chapter shaped Dr. Kalema-Zikusoka’s personal story.
“When I was two years old, my father was taken away from us. He was a prominent minister in the previous government, and when Amin came to power, my dad was one of the first victims,” she recalls.
“When I was old enough to understand what had happened to him, I felt like I wanted to continue his dream of a prosperous Uganda through my passion for wildlife.”
Guardians of the Gorillas
In 1994, Bwindi was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Preparation for gorilla tourism began through habituation, a process that helped 27 gorilla groups become accustomed to peaceful human presence.
Dr. Kalema-Zikusoka still closely monitors their health. “I try to make notes on each of the gorillas, looking out for unusual behaviour or appearance, to see if there are any clinical signs. They also have different personalities, and those help us know whether they’re okay or not.”
But conservation soon revealed a challenge: disease transmission between humans and gorillas. A severe outbreak of scabies, traced to dirty clothing on scarecrows in nearby banana fields, made her realize that gorilla health was inseparable from human wellbeing.
That moment was a turning point. In 2003, she founded Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH), which now reaches about 10,000 households around Bwindi.
“We developed a whole set of indicators to show that families have good health and hygiene,” she explains. “These include a drying rack, a clean toilet, a handwashing station, and a separate animal house. Anything to avoid human–wildlife conflict.”
Her team also works to reduce poaching by improving livelihoods. During the pandemic, CTPH launched the Ready to Grow program, giving out fast-growing seedlings and encouraging cash crops like coffee and tea. “The more food security they have, the less likely they are to enter the forest to poach,” she says.
Each new birth in the gorilla community renews Dr. Kalema-Zikusoka’s commitment.
“The mountain gorillas have really shaped my life. I went there as a vet student, and I never left. I always get very excited when I hear that a baby mountain gorilla has been born. It means we’re bringing the gorillas back from the brink of extinction. And every new birth gives us hope that our conservation efforts are working.”
For Uganda and the world, her work offers a rare reminder that protecting nature is not just about saving wildlife, but about ensuring communities and ecosystems thrive together.
