Dian Fossey

Anthropologist, primatologist, ethologist, zoologist, scientist, academic and American writer

By Bruna Silva And Daniel García

DIAN FOSSEY

INDEX

1. BIOGRAPHY..................................................

I1. STUDIOS......................................................

II1. WORKS......................................................

1V. DEATH........................................................

V. OTHERS......................................................

BIOGRAPHY

She was born in San Francisco in 1932. Movated by the work of George Schaller, a noted American zoologist who devoted herself to the study of gorillas, Fossey travelled to Africa in 1963. There she observed and studied the gorillas of the mountains in their natural habitat and met the British archaeologist Louis Leakey, from whom learned the importance of studying the great apes to understand human evolution.

STUDIES

She graduated in Occupational Therapy at the San Jose State University in 1954. But she attended other colleges such as Darwin College, University of California at Davis, College of Marin and Cambridge College.

WORKS

In 1983 she published "Gorillas in the Mist", a book that exposes her observations and her relationship with gorillas in all her years of field studies.

Her work contributed greatly to the recovery of the gorilla population and the demystification of their violent behavior.

WOKS II

In 1966 she obtained the support of the National Geographic Society and the Wilkie Foundation to work in Zaire, but soon the complicated political situation of the country would force her to move to Rwanda to continue her research. Her patience and meticulous observation of the gorillas allowed her to understand and imitate their behavior, gradually gaining the acceptance of several groups. She learned to recognize the unique characteristics of each individual, coming to have a relationship of trust and affection with them. Karisoke, her place of study, became an international gorilla research center when she founded the Karisoke Research Center in 1967. In 1974, she received a doctorate in Zoology from the University of Cambridge.

DEATH

Her death, with machetes, was attributed to the head of the gorilla poachers against whom she fought. In the beginning the poachers were pointed out, but later Wyne McGuire, a young student who was under the advice of Fossey, was accused of 'professional jealousy'. McGuire fled to the United States shortly before a Rwandan court accused him of the crime and sentenced him to die shot as soon as he stepped on Rwanda. Nowadays, however, the most widespread theory is that of murder at the hands of the poachers with the support of the Rwandan authorities.

When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past, and concentrate more on the perseveration for the future.

Dian Fossey

Fossey was found dead in the bedroom of her cabin in the mountains of Virunga, Rwanda, on December 26th, 1985. The last entry in her diary said:

DEATH II

VS

What it impressed me the most about this women is that she could understand gorilla's behavior just by watching them hours and hours. Even though her life ended in a tragedic way, I think she has helped us to improve the knowledge of wild animals (gorillas).

I would have liked to see more of her work, I loved her caring for the gorillas and the way she studied them, with that friendly character towards them, and most importantly, at their side, knowing that she was in danger every second of her experience.

DANIEL'S OPINION

BRUNA'S OPINION

Thank you for your time!

THE END

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