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Dian Fossey

Dian Fossey was a lonely child, always longing for the one thing she wasn’t allowed to have: a pet. She was awkward around other children, and yearned for companionship. Then, as a young woman, Dian’s life changed when she read a book about zoology, the study of animals. She was inspired by this book to take a trip to Africa. Dian traveled to many countries, and met Dr. Louis Leakey, a famous scientist. Best of all, she saw lots of animals. Dian loved Africa and was sad to leave it when it was time to go home.

Dr. Leakey remembered the tall, shy young woman and helped her return to Africa to study gorillas in 1966. Dian set up camp on a mountain in the country of Rwanda. It was not easy to get to. The nearest trail a car could drive on was three miles away. From there you had to hike, carrying whatever you needed up the side of the mountain. That didn’t stop Dian, though. Soon she had a metal hut built for herself, a hut for guests, and several other structures.

It was difficult to get close to the gorillas. They were wild animals, after all. Dian decided that she would watch what the gorillas did and try to act like a gorilla. She walked like a gorilla, she ate like a gorilla, and she made noises like a gorilla. Little by little, the gorillas got used to her.

Over her 18 years in Rwanda, Dian became very attached to the gorillas. She gave them names and called them her friends. Dian did not get along well with other humans, though. Some local people saw her as an outsider and thought she should go back home. Dian had problems both with poachers—who killed gorillas, or sold them to zoos—and with farmers, who cut down forests where the gorillas lived.

Because of Dian Fossey’s work, we know much more than we did about gorillas. But Dian did more than just watch the gorillas. She also made people aware of how important it was to save them. Thanks to Dian, today there are people all over the world working to help gorillas survive in the wild.