DIAN FOSSEY
Dian Fossey was born in San Francisco, California in 1932. Her strong interest
in animals led her to enter college as a pre-veterinary student. Soon, however,
she switched to occupational therapy and obtained her degree from San Jose State
College. Through friends, Dian Fossey became interested in Africa and made a six
week trip there in 1963. At Olduvai Gorge, she met Dr. Louis Leakey who
impressed on her the importance of doing research on great apes. This meeting
inspired her to study mountain gorillas.
Determined to work in Africa, Dian won support from the National Geographic
Society and the Wilkie Foundation in 1966 for a research program in the Zaire.
Political upheaval there forced her to move to Rwanda, where in 1967 she
established Karisoke, a research camp in the Parc National des Volcans. In 1970
, her efforts to get the gorillas to habituate to her presence were finally
rewarded when Peanuts, an adult male, touched her hand. This was the first
friendly gorilla to human contact ever recorded.
Intense observation over thousands of hours enabled Dr. Fossey to earn the
complete trust of the wild groups she studied and brought forth new knowledge
concerning many previously unknown aspects of gorilla behavior. When poachers
attacked and killed a young male named "Digit" to whom she had grown especially
attached , she reacted by waging a public campaign against gorilla poaching.
National Geographic heeded her pleas by placing her photograph on the cover of
an issue containing an in-depth article with photos by Bob Campbell.
Contributions poured in from around the world, allowing Dr. Fossey to establish
the Digit Fund (renamed the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in 1992) and dedicate the
rest of her life to the protection of the gorillas.
Dr Fossey obtained her Ph.D. at Cambridge University and in 1980 accepted a
position at Cornell University that enabled her to begin writing Gorillas in the
Mist. Its publication brought her world fame and helped to focus much needed
attention on the plight of the mountain gorillas, whose numbers had by then
dwindled to 250. She returned to Karisoke to continue her tireless campaign to
ensure the survival of the mountain gorilla and to stop poaching.
Dr. Fossey was murdered in her cabin at Karisoke on December 26, 1985. Her death
is a mystery yet unsolved. The last entry in her diary reads: "When you realize
the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate on the
preservation of the future."
Dian Fossey's dream still lives on today in the work of the Atlanta-based Fossey
Fund's dedicated researchers and Rwandan staff at Karisoke. Today, the mountain
gorilla population is making steady gains in the Virunga Volcano area. This
trend can be attributed to the success of the efforts of the Dian Fossey Gorilla
Fund International and its supporters. It is also a fitting memorial to the life
and work of Dian Fossey.
In 1988 the Life and work of Dian Fossey was portrayed in the major motion
picture Gorillas in the Mist, starring Sigourney Weaver. Ms. Weaver was so moved
by her experience with the gorillas while filming that she became a supporter of
the DFGF. Today Sigourney Weaver is DFGFI's Honorary Chairperson.
Dian Fossey was born in San Francisco, California in 1932. Her strong interest
in animals led her to enter college as a pre-veterinary student. Soon, however,
she switched to occupational therapy and obtained her degree from San Jose State
College. Through friends, Dian Fossey became interested in Africa and made a six
week trip there in 1963. At Olduvai Gorge, she met Dr. Louis Leakey who
impressed on her the importance of doing research on great apes. This meeting
inspired her to study mountain gorillas.
Determined to work in Africa, Dian won support from the National Geographic
Society and the Wilkie Foundation in 1966 for a research program in the Zaire.
Political upheaval there forced her to move to Rwanda, where in 1967 she
established Karisoke, a research camp in the Parc National des Volcans. In 1970
, her efforts to get the gorillas to habituate to her presence were finally
rewarded when Peanuts, an adult male, touched her hand. This was the first
friendly gorilla to human contact ever recorded.
Intense observation over thousands of hours enabled Dr. Fossey to earn the
complete trust of the wild groups she studied and brought forth new knowledge
concerning many previously unknown aspects of gorilla behavior. When poachers
attacked and killed a young male named "Digit" to whom she had grown especially
attached , she reacted by waging a public campaign against gorilla poaching.
National Geographic heeded her pleas by placing her photograph on the cover of
an issue containing an in-depth article with photos by Bob Campbell.
Contributions poured in from around the world, allowing Dr. Fossey to establish
the Digit Fund (renamed the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in 1992) and dedicate the
rest of her life to the protection of the gorillas.
Dr Fossey obtained her Ph.D. at Cambridge University and in 1980 accepted a
position at Cornell University that enabled her to begin writing Gorillas in the
Mist. Its publication brought her world fame and helped to focus much needed
attention on the plight of the mountain gorillas, whose numbers had by then
dwindled to 250. She returned to Karisoke to continue her tireless campaign to
ensure the survival of the mountain gorilla and to stop poaching.
Dr. Fossey was murdered in her cabin at Karisoke on December 26, 1985. Her death
is a mystery yet unsolved. The last entry in her diary reads: "When you realize
the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate on the
preservation of the future."
Dian Fossey's dream still lives on today in the work of the Atlanta-based Fossey
Fund's dedicated researchers and Rwandan staff at Karisoke. Today, the mountain
gorilla population is making steady gains in the Virunga Volcano area. This
trend can be attributed to the success of the efforts of the Dian Fossey Gorilla
Fund International and its supporters. It is also a fitting memorial to the life
and work of Dian Fossey.
In 1988 the Life and work of Dian Fossey was portrayed in the major motion
picture Gorillas in the Mist, starring Sigourney Weaver. Ms. Weaver was so moved
by her experience with the gorillas while filming that she became a supporter of
the DFGF. Today Sigourney Weaver is DFGFI's Honorary Chairperson.