Gorillas in the mist: Dian Fossey

When we speak of heroes, we always tend to think of either super heroes or those Hollywood super humans. But do we ever speak of the real-life heroes like DIAN FOSSEY and Jane Goodall??? Well.. that's what we're here for. After you read this article, maybe... maybe... you would adore Dian for her work, and in turn her most loved creatures, the GORILLAS.







Rwanda is a beautiful place in east-central Africa. It looked more beautiful when Dian lived there for years and years doing what she does best... studying Gorillas.

Dian became interested in gorillas after watching them in the wild and after her friend told her about those magical creatures. So she embarked on a journey to Rwanda to study gorillas after taking a loan in 1963, inspite of having breathing trouble and fear of heights. In 1967, she founded the karisoke Research Center, a remote camp rain forest nestled in the V mountains in Ruhengeri province, Rwanda. Dian instantly became a celebrity when her photo appeared in the cover page of national geographic magazine.


Usually, observing wild and untamed animals is a tedious and a dangerous task, let alone interacting with them. But Dian not only interacted with them, but was also became one among Gorilla families.

In the photo taken in 1970, on the right, a young Gorilla is seen playing with Dian Fossey. The Silverbacks (Male gorillas) and other females wont tolerate a stranger near their offsprings. Now we know how Dian used to work and her commitment towards saving those precious lives.



Here, we see Dian Fossey and a silverback huddled together. If you've watched the movie, TARZAN, you'll probably know how strong and how very protective a silverback can be of its group or clan.

Now lemme tell you how strong a silverback can be: A silverback can lift an average Sedan off the ground. Surpirised???

The same silverback is seen with Dian as if they belong to the same family. Of course Gorillas and humans are almost similar.It's just us humans that don't understand this very similarity. And yet we call ourselves superior.






During her research, Dian had developed an intimate relationship with one of the male Gorillas named DIGIT. They were friends of the best kind. Everyday Digit would play with Dian as if there was nothing to worry about.....until.... he was decapitated for the price of $20 by poachers in 1977. Dian was heart broken. Everything she had cared for all these years had been taken away from her.
She then created the DIGIT FUND with the intent to raise money for anti-poaching patrols.

Dian campaigned all her life against poaching of animals and at one point of time, went against corrupt politicians and even the govt. against their conservation policies. Fossey strongly supported "active conservation"—for example anti-poaching and preservation of natural habitat—as opposed to "theoretical conservation", which includes the promotion of tourism. She was also strongly opposed to zoos, as the capture of individual animals all too often involves the killing of their family members.

Of course, that was the reason that led to her mysterious death. It was cold blooded murder. 53 year old Fossey was brutally murdered in the bedroom of her cabin on December 26, 1985. Her skull had been split by a panga, a tool widely used by poachers, which she had confiscated years earlier and hung as a decoration on the wall of her living room adjacent to her bedroom. Fossey was found dead beside her bed and 2 meters away from the hole in the cabin that was cut on the day of her murder. The violent nature of the wound, there was relatively little blood in her bedroom, leading some to believe that she was killed before the head-wound was inflicted, as head wounds, even superficial ones, usually bleed profusely.

Dian Fossey was buried in the same graveyard which she had constructed for gorillas that were victims of poaching and illegal trading.


Finally, Dian rests in peace with her most close friends. But her work still goes on. Dian Fossey fund is being used to protect the gorillas of Rwanda today.

People like Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall are the real ANGELS ON EARTH.


NOTE: Dian Fossey started her work after learning about Jane Goodall who is also a conservationist like Dian, but specializes in Chimanzees. Jane can actually communicate with wild Chimps and even make friends with them. Sounds interesting right?



REFERENCE: Wikipedia