Mountain gorillas can catch human respiratory diseases like Covid-19. | Roger de la Harpe/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Gorillas can easily catch human disease. A veterinarian-conservationist explains how to protect them from the coronavirus.

There are less than 1,000 mountain gorillas left in the wild, and about 460 of them live in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. In the park’s very dense, high altitude forest (hence the name “impenetrable”), veterinarian Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is working to keep them alive through the Covid-19 pandemic.

No gorilla has come down with Covid-19, but Kalema-Zikusoka fears what might happen if one did. Gorillas live in tight-knit groups, so a respiratory infection could easily spread among them. Infected gorillas could get sick and die, or possibly, suffer long-term consequences from the disease.

Kalema-Zikusoka founded the nonprofit Conservation Through Public Health, where she