The Blog of Awesome Women / Dian Fossey: Gorillas and the Myth

Occupational therapist Dian Fossey felt a primal call to go to Africa where she could study mountain gorillas. Taking out a personal loan, in 1963 she headed to the southern hemisphere, stopping by to say hello to Jane Goodall and the Leakeys, who encouraged her to do a gorilla field study. Traveling to Zaire (otherwise known as the “heart of darkness” to you Conrad fans), she found her research subjects—or rather sniffed out the odoriferous primates. “I was struck by the physical magnificence of the huge jet-black bodies blended against the green palette of the thick forest foliage.” Taking the “when in Rome” tack, she won the apes over by mimicking their moves, eventually living among fifty-one gorillas. Indeed, her observations proved that the mountain gorillas were actually peaceful vegetarians in great danger of extinction from poaching and habitat shrinkage.

Dian Fossey defended her gorillas and their turf bravely, earning the enmity of Rwandan tribespeople. She was devastated when her beloved gorilla Digit and two others were slaughtered in what seems to have been a threat to her in 1978. Fossey made a plea to the world to help her save the gorillas, greatly furthered by her book Gorillas in the Mistand the eponymous movie featuring Sigourney Weaver in the starring role. After teaching at Cambridge and raising cash for the “Digit fund” to help the mountain gorillas, Dian Fossey (called Nyiramachabelli by the Rwandans—“the old lady who lives in the forest without a man”) returned to stay with her gorilla families again, but her reunion was short-lived. She was found murdered on Christmas Eve of 1985 in the gorilla park habitat. Dian Fossey was buried beside Digit. Her murder has never been solved.

This bio of Dian Fossey was taken from “The Book of Awesome Women” by Becca Anderson, which is available now.