Dian Fossey, born January 16, 1932, was an American primatologist best known for her long-term study of mountain gorillas, from 1966 until her murder in 1985. She spent nearly two decades among Rwanda’s mountain gorillas, playing a role in their conservation similar to what Jane Goodall did for chimpanzees in Tanzania, both raising global awareness of the species and pushing hard for their protection.
Founding Karisoke
In 1967, Fossey set up camp in the Virunga Mountains, a chain of mostly extinct volcanoes spanning DR Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda, home to roughly 1,000 mountain gorillas across four national parks: Mgahinga in Uganda, Volcanoes in Rwanda, Virunga in DR Congo, and neighboring Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. That same year, she established the Karisoke Research Center in Volcanoes National Park to support gorilla research, while working toward a PhD at Cambridge University, which she completed in 1976. She later took a visiting associate professorship at Cornell University.
A Different Approach to Habituation
Fossey opposed poaching throughout her time in the Virunga region and worked to build international awareness of the threats facing mountain gorillas. Her method of habituating gorillas stood out for not relying on food-based bribery, unlike Jane Goodall’s use of bananas to habituate chimpanzees, a distinction that reflected Fossey’s broader approach to studying gorillas on their own terms.
From Research to Conservation
The longer Fossey spent with the gorillas, the more she recognized the scale of the threat facing them, with poaching sometimes claiming five to ten gorillas in a single day. She and her team began running anti-poaching patrols, removing traps, and caring for injured or orphaned gorilla infants, shifting her work from pure research toward active conservation.
She corresponded with organizations including Rwanda’s national park system, the African Wildlife Foundation, and the World Wildlife Fund, pushing them to support anti-poaching efforts for what would eventually become one of the world’s most sought-after species to see in the wild.
Gorillas in the Mist
Fossey’s book, “Gorillas in the Mist,” became an international bestseller and was later adapted into a film of the same name. Both brought mountain gorilla conservation to a much wider Western audience, significantly raising awareness of the threats facing gorillas in the Virunga region.
Fossey’s Death
On December 26, 1985, Fossey was found murdered at her forest camp in Rwanda, widely believed to have been killed by poachers. Several suspects were arrested, but no one was ever convicted, and the case remains officially unresolved.
Fossey’s Legacy
Fossey’s work continues today through the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International and the Karisoke Research Center, both still active in gorilla conservation. She’s remembered as one of the central figures in mountain gorilla protection, known for treating gorillas as socially complex animals with distinct personalities and strong family bonds. Visitors still hike daily to her grave on the edge of Volcanoes National Park to pay respect to her work.
