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eep in the African jungle, Dr. Mike Cranfield was just trying to help—but the huge, angry silverback gorilla staring him down didn’t know that. Cranfield was a big-animal veterinarian trying to care for a sick baby gorilla. The silverback thought the vet was a threat. The next minutes would de- termine whether Cranfield would become a patient himself. An angry silverback is one of the most dangerous animals around. When you devote your life to caring for animals in the wild, though, facing angry patients is part of the job.

Moments before the adult gorilla appeared, Cranfield cradled a sick three- week-old mountain gorilla gently in his arms. Its mother slept peacefully at

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND anesthesia  medicine that puts a patient to sleep for an operation or other medical procedure poachers  people who capture or kill wild animals illegally primate  a type of four-limbed mammal with a devel- oped brain; includes humans, apes, and monkeys

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