Remembering Dian Fossey (1932 - 1985)

Dian Fossey

Dian Fossey dedicated her life to saving the endangered species of Mountain Gorillas. Her conservation efforts clashed with the interests of wildlife poachers and corrupt bureaucrats. Dian was murdered on this day in 1985. Her murder still remains unsolved.

RIP Dian. You were the best!

Dian Fossey with one of her favorite Gorillas

To learn more about Dian and how you can contribute to saving this magnificent species, please visit The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International.

Image Sources: Wikipedia, Dian Fosseyas a Zoologist

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Save the Mountain Gorillas – Part II

A Mother Gorilla with her baby

Please click here to read the first part of this blog series.

Mountain Gorillas face a variety of threats in their day-to-day lives. When two mountain gorilla groups cross paths, there is a chance for confrontations as Silverbacks try to acquire females from the other group. The same happens when an adult Silverback tries to overthrow the reigning Silverback to take over his group. But, in most of the instances, gorillas indulge in chest-beating and bluff charges, at which point, the confrontation is called off. Gorillas are very gentle by nature, quite contrary to movies like ‘King Kong’ and always try to avoid violent confrontation as much as possible.

Gorillas also face danger from leopards, which often prey on them.

But the Mountain Gorillas face their biggest danger from Man himself.

• Poaching – Gorillas often fall victim to traps, intended NOT for them but other animals like pigs. In addition, baby gorillas are sought by poachers for the illegal pet trade and this leads to the entire Gorilla family getting massacred. 
• Civil Wars – The Civil Wars have led to mines being placed in the forests, leading to heavy fatalities among the Mountain Gorillas
•  Loss of Habitat – Right next to the forests frequented by Gorillas, there are human settlements. As humans take up more and more land for cultivation and other purposes, this leads to habitat loss and gorillas end up raiding the crops for food, leading to retaliation and further gorilla deaths.
•  Close contact with human beings – Gorillas are highly susceptible to human diseases. This means that in addition to the poachers, gorillas are at a very high risk even from volunteers and conservationists, who are dedicated to protecting the lives of Gorillas.

Senkwekwe's family of Mountain Gorillas was massacred by poachers in 2007

To counter these challenges, many organizations and individuals are putting in their best efforts to save this magnificent species. Despite increased patrolling against the poachers and regularly removing the snares/traps, expanding the national park areas to prevent habitat loss and educating school children about the importance and need to save the Gorillas, the current situation looks very grim.

A Silverback Gorilla ponders his grim future

Today, only 786 Mountain Gorillas survive in the wild.

ACT NOW. For more on how YOU can help save Mountain Gorillas, please visit the following sites:

Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Inc

Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, Inc 

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to this blog by clicking here. 

Image Sources: The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, igorilla.org

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Book Review: Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey

Dian Fossey captures the essence of what makes the Mountain Gorillas a truly great species.

Dian was leading a relatively normal life in USA, when she made a short trip to Africa. She brought back some pictures and written descriptions of her experience with Mountain Gorillas. This eventually led to her being designated as one of “Leakey’s Angels”. She was chosen to study Mountain Gorillas, just as Jane Goodall and Birute M. Galdikas were chosen to study Chimpanzees and Orangutans respectively.

Dian studied Mountain Gorillas for more than a decade and she describes her experience in great detail in this book. She had great love and respect for these magnificent animals and this shines through in each page. Some of her favorite Gorillas include Digit, Rafiki, Uncle Bert and Macho. In addition to the Gorillas, she also had a pet dog, who she loved very much.

Dian with her favorite gorilla, Digit

Digit’s massacre by poachers led to Dian starting the “Digit Fund”, which is now known as “The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International”. Dian advocated “Active Conservation” efforts to save the Gorillas.

She also found “Karisoke Research Center”, which continues Fossey’s work in studying Mountain Gorillas.

Click on the link below to buy the book:

Dian was murdered in her cabin in 1985. Her murder still remains unsolved to this day.

Dian was not perfect. She was reported to be a heavy drinker as well as a different person to get along with. She was also not the first person to study Mountain Gorillas. Still, she will always be remembered for dedicating her life to studying Mountain Gorillas and ensuring that people all over the world know about the plight of these magnificent apes. Dian’s book is a rare insight into her awe-inspiring work.

Highly recommended to people who love Mountain Gorillas or are interested to know more about Dian Fossey.

If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog by clicking here. 

Image Source: Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Inc 

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