Dian Fossey Born (1932)

Mountain gorilla, the subject of Fossey’s life work (photo by US Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters)

Dian Fossey, the world’s leading expert on mountain gorillas, was born on January 16, 1932 (died 1985). She followed her dream to visit Africa as a young woman. There she discovered an affinity to nature and specifically to mountain gorillas that occupied her entire life and led to her murder in a machete attack in the remote Rwandan wilderness. Her life was immortalized in the feature film, “Gorillas in the Mist,” starring Sigourney Weaver.

Fossey grew up in San Francisco. She was always interested in animals, but did not pursue a career related to them. Instead, she became an occupational therapist, first in California and later in Louisville, Kentucky. When a friend returned from an African safari filled with stories of the animals and excitement she had experienced, Fossey decided she needed to take a similar trip herself, then, before she grew too old. So, at age 31, she cashed in her life savings, took out a bank loan and headed to Africa.

The trip changed Fossey’s life.  She met the famous paleontologist Louis Leakey at his camp in Olduvai Gorge.  Leakey told her that in order to understand human behavior, we needed to study our closest relatives—the great apes.  Leakey had begun funding Jane Goodall’s studies of chimpanzees a few years earlier, and he encouraged a similar study of mountain gorillas (learn more about Goodall here).  Later on the tour, Fossey saw her first mountain gorillas, and her fate was determined.  “I believe it was at this time,” she wrote, “the seed was planted in my head, even if unconsciously, that I would someday return to Africa to study the gorillas of the mountains.”

Louis Leakey came to Louisville a few years later to lecture, and Fossey renewed their acquaintance.  Leakey invited her to come to Africa to study gorillas, but insisted that she first have her appendix removed to avoid any problems in the field.  She did so—to Leakey’s surprise, because he claimed this was just his way to test the sincerity of a person’s interest, not intending for anyone to follow through on the idea.  Leakey was obviously impressed and after securing funding, brought Fossey back to Africa in 1966.

She initially set up an observation camp in the Congo, in the Virunga Mountains that are now the only known home of the mountain gorilla.  Fossey spent all her time in the field, watching gorillas and gradually gaining their trust.  In a short time, the animals became habituated to Fossey’s presence so that she could observe them continuously at close range.  She learned to identify individuals from three distinct groups.  From her copious notes, she wrote several articles about the gorillas’ behavior.  He work attracted the attention of National Geographic Magazine, and she appeared on the magazine’s cover—her work and her concern for the conservation of the gorillas was now part of the global consciousness (learn more about the National Geographic Society here).

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This Month in Conservation

January 1
NEPA Enacted (1970)
January 2
Bob Marshall Born (1901)
January 3
Canaveral National Seashore Created (1975)
January 4
The Real James Bond Born (1900)
January 5
National Bird Day
January 6
Wild Kingdom First Airs (1963)
January 7
Gerald Durrell Born (1925)
January 7
Albert Bierstadt, American landscape painter, born (1830)
January 8
Alfred Russel Wallace Born (1823)
January 9
Muir Woods National Monument Created (1908)
January 10
National Houseplant Appreciation Day
January 11
Aldo Leopold Born (1887)
January 12
National Trust of England Established (1895)
January 13
MaVynee Betsch, the Beach Lady, Born (1935)
January 14
Martin Holdgate, British Conservationist, Born (1931)
January 15
British Museum Opened (1759)
January 16
Dian Fossey Born (1932)
January 17
Benjamin Franklin, America’s First Environmentalist, Born (1706)
January 18
White Sands National Monument Created (1933)
January 19
Yul Choi, Korean Environmentalist, Born (1949)
January 19
Acadia National Park Established (1929)
January 20
Penguin Appreciation Day
January 21
The Wilderness Society Founded (1935)
January 22
Iraq Sabotages Kuwaiti Oil Fields (1991)
January 23
Sweden Bans CFCs in Aerosols (1978)
January 24
Baden-Powell Publishes “Scouting for Boys” (1908)
January 25
Badlands National Park Established (1939)
January 26
Benjamin Franklin Disses the Bald Eagle (1784)
January 27
National Geographic Society Incorporated (1888)
January 28
Bermuda Petrel, Thought Extinct for 300 Years, Re-discovered (1951)
January 29
Edward Abbey, author of “Desert Solitaire,” Born (1927)
January 30
England Claims Antarctica (1820)
January 31
Stewart Udall, Secretary of Interior, Born (1920)
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