Dian Fossey
- Born
- 16 January 1932
- Died
- 26 December 1985 (age 53)
On New Year’s Eve 1977, in the depths of Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda, a silverback gorilla was killed by six armed poachers, accompanied by dogs, while defending his group, who manage to escape during the attack. The silverback’s name was Digit and his tragic death changed the face of primate conservation forever. Dian Fossey, a pioneering primatologist, had formed a close personal bond with Digit the moment she met him. She described him as a “playful little ball of disorganized black fluff”. When his disfigured body was discovered on New Year’s Day, 1978, with the head and hands chopped off, Fossey’s initial reaction was one of deep grief, which she soon channelled into anti-poaching campaigning.
Dian Fossey entered primatology through non-traditional means. Born in San Francisco in 1932, she worked as an occupational therapist until, during a trip to Africa in 1963, she met the paleoanthropologist Dr Louis Leakey. This meeting inspired Fossey to start her own research into primates.
A few years later, she moved to Congo to study mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), but the political situation soon forced her to transfer her ‘research station’ (essentially two small tents) to Rwanda. Settled on the slopes of the Virunga Mountains, Fossey began to gain the trust of several gorilla groups, largely by behaving like them: “I learned to scratch and groom and beat my chest. I imitated my subjects' vocalisations (hoots, grunts, and belches), munched the foliage they ate...”.
This habituation technique allowed Fossey to study gorilla behaviour at close range, and develop close personal relationships with many of them, including Digit who was under three years old when they met.
Fossey observed the complex social dynamics within and between groups, and noted intriguing behaviour, such as tickling, that was often assumed to be unique to humans. Thanks largely to her, our perception of the gorilla changed from that of an aggressive brute to a gentle giant. However, she also gained fresh insight into infanticide; the occasional killing of youngsters by an older, unrelated male.
Fossey’s lasting legacy is in creating global awareness of the plight of the mountain gorilla. A lot of her energy and resources went into protecting her gorillas from the constant threat of poaching. After Digit’s death, she set up the Digit Fund (now called the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund) to finance these conservation activities.
It was her love that she will be remembered for
Alex Shoumatoff, Vanity Fair, 1986
In December 1985, Fossey was killed with a machete in her cabin in Rwanda. The identity of the perpetrator remains unknown. Her grave was placed next to Digit’s so she could rest as she lived, alongside her beloved gorillas.
This profile was written by a Biology: Changing the World volunteer.