Dian Fossey (1932-1985) was the world’s leading authority on the mountain gorilla before her murder, probably at the hands of poachers, in December of 1985.Dian Fossey’s short life was characterized in equal parts by tragedy, controversy, and extraordinary courage and dedication to the animals she made her life work. That dedication drew her back to Africa over and over despite broken bones, failing health, and threats to her life. All and all, she spent 18 years studying the mountain gorillas and working for their survival as a species.
An unlikely chain of circumstances led Fossey to study the mountain gorilla and to her eventual demise high in the fog enshrouded mountains of eastern Africa. Born in San Francisco on January 16, 1932, Fossey was fascinated with animals from an early age. She entered the University of California at Davis to study pre-veterinary medicine but found it difficult to master courses in chemistry and physics. Instead she completed a B.A. in 1954 from San Jose State University in occupational therapy. In 1956 she took a job at Kosair Crippled Children’s Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, where she could pursue her interest in horses during her free time.http://articles.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_gx5221/is_2005/ai_n19136575BOOK~The Dark Romance of Dian Fossey / Harold TP HayesPublished: January 25, 2007
She was called “the woman who lives alone on the mountains,” and the pictures in National Geographic and the book and movie “Gorillas in the Mist” depicted her as a courageous woman with an all-consuming passion to save the mountain gorillas from extinction.“The Dark Romance of Dian Fossey” by Harold T. P. Hayes shows another side of her life.Some natives thought of her as a witch; others saw her as a brilliant scientist or a half-mad eccentric.Growing up in a rather dysfunctional family situation, she wandered, only partly successfully, from place to place and was eventually taken in by the Henry family of Louisville, Kentucky. While there, Dian listened to Louis Leaky lecture and made a friend, more impulsive than herself, who had been to Africa and taken gorilla pictures. This drew her to Africa.
She had to borrow money and found her guide somewhat difficult, but ended up on the edge of the Virunga Mountains near the borders of Rwanda, Zaire and Uganda. With help from the Leaky family and somewhat reluctantly from Walter Blumgartel, who had a “hotel” in Kabara Meadow, Fossey set out to find “love” among the mountain gorillas. Her education and background hardly fit her for what she was about to do, but the headstrong woman never let that hold her back.
Other trained scientists had studied gorillas with mixed results, and now Dian was thrown into the field and, to some degree, set the primate world on its edge. With no knowledge of the native languages, and very little scientific background, Fossey became the world’s leading and somewhat controversial expert and protector of the mountain gorilla. Fighting poachers and corrupt officials, losing her passport and nearly her life, and giving up her chance for love and marriage, she poured out her love to these animals and had it returned to her.
This book removes some of the mystery surrounding Fossey and lets us see her dedication and sometimes foolish or eccentric efforts on behalf of the gorillas. “… Fossey’s feelings toward the gorillas had gone far beyond professional dedication to their survival. The preservation of the gorillas had become her obsession, the expression of all her deepest emotions and fears.”
This obsession quite possibly resulted in her brutal murder in 1985.
This intriguing and evocative book draws readers into the heart of Africa and into the mind of this extraordinary woman, a most unusual and interesting story.
- Gerald Fowles
Friends of the McMinnville Library
Courtesy http://www.newsregistry.com/
Fossey studied as a preveterinary student in her undergraduate work, and spent seven years as director of occupational therapy in a Louisville, Kentucky hospital.
She developed an interest in mountain gorillas, and wanted to see them in their natural habitat. Her first visit to the mountain gorillas came when she went in 1963 on a seven-week safari. She met with Mary and Louis Leakey before traveling to Zaire. She returned to Kentucky and her job.
Three years later, Louis Leakey visited her in Kentucky to urge her to follow through on her desire to study the gorillas. He told her — she later found it it was to test her commitment — to have her appendix removed prior to moving to Africa to spend an extended time studying the gorillas.
After raising funds, she returned to Africa, visited Jane Goodall to learn from her, and then made her way to Zaire and the home of the mountain gorillas.
She earned the trust of the gorillas, but human beings were another matter. She was taken into custody in Zaire, escaped to Uganda, and moved to Rwanda to continue her work.
By techniques she developed, especially imitation of the gorilla behavior, she was again accepted as an observor by a group of mountain gorillas there. She discovered and publicized their peaceful nature and their nurturing family relationships.
From 1970-1974, Fossey went to England to get her doctorate at Cambridge University, in zoology. Her dissertation summarized her work thus far with the gorillas.
Returning to Africa, she began taking in research volunteers who extended the work she’d been doing. When one of her favorite gorillas, Digit, was killed, she began a very public campaign against poachers who killed gorillas.
In 1980, she returned to the US to teach at Cornell University. In 1983 she published Gorillas in the Mist, a popularized version of her studies. Saying she preferred gorillas to people, she returned to Africa and to her gorilla research, as well as to her anti-poaching activity.
On December 26, 1985, her body was discovered near the research center. Presumably, she’d been killed by the poachers she’d fought.
On her gravestone: “No one loved gorillas more…
Note: Our very own Baby Boomer Diva;Sigourney Weaver, brought the story of this remarkable woman’s plight to the world when she starred as Dian Fossey, in the beautiful movie; “Gorillas in the Mist”-A life ended too soon. A life’s work that endures. The inspiring true story of Dian Fossey
