Dian Fossey in East Africa.

East African Dian Fossey came into this world in San Francisco, California, on January 16, 1932. She spent her formative years with her mother and stepfather after her parents’ divorce. Dian Fossey began taking riding lessons when she was six years old, a sign of her early affinity for animals. As a high school student, she excelled enough to earn a letter on the riding team.

Dian Fossey was compelled to leave a Montana ranch where she had caught chicken pox when she was 19 years old, despite the fact that she had become even more attached to the animals during her time there.

Later on, Dian Fossey signed up for a pre-vet program at UC Berkeley, but she dropped out due to the difficulty of some chemistry and physics classes. After enrolling in and completing an occupational therapy program at St. Jose State College in 1954, she worked in several California hospitals with patients who had TB.

Dian Fossey in Africa’s Sahara

After hearing tales of the plentiful wildlife in Africa from a friend who had just had a holiday there, animal lover Dian Fossey made the long journey to East Africa. In 1963, after saving up everything she could, she finally crossed the Atlantic Ocean to fulfill her lifelong ambition of seeing Africa. She traveled to several different nations, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.

While filming a documentary on gorillas in Africa, Dian Fossey met Joan and Alan Root, two of the most influential persons in her career. They were local wildlife photographers who thought about accompanying her on a mission to find primates.

Her feelings and the event are vividly described in the book “Gorillas in the Mist,” which she considers to be one of her happiest memories. After meeting Louis Leaky and his wife during Dian Fossey’s early days in Africa, Leaky offered her to participate in a long-term research on Rwanda’s endangered mountain gorillas.

when taking on the project, Dian lived with mountain gorillas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, she relocated to Rwanda to continue her research and study when the country experienced civil instability.

Although Dian Fossey faced several challenges in her fight to protect these endangered monkeys, she persisted in her efforts nevertheless. at order to make primate research easier, she set up the Karisoke Research Foundation at Volcanoes National Park. In 1976, she earned a doctorate degree based on her studies from Cambridge University, which she completed while doing fieldwork in the National Park.

The first dedicated ranger patrols were established as a result of Dian Fossey’s work and efforts to rescue and preserve the endangered Mountain Gorillas. In addition to destroying poachers’ traps and putting down their dogs, she angered some by rejecting the proposals of government authorities and wildlife wardens to convert gorilla habitats into farms.

Poachers cruelly murdered Dian Fossey on December 26, 1985, and her corpse was discovered at her Rwandan jungle camp. On your African Adventure safari to Rwanda, you may visit the site of her burial, which is near to that of her beloved gorilla companion Digit. But it’s ridiculous that nobody has ever been charged with complicity in her persecution-related murder.

Her legacy lived on in the work she left behind. She had a profound impact on many environmentalists, and their efforts to protect gorillas continue today via the Dian Fossey Gorilla Foundation. When you contact Monumental Expeditions and Safaris, we will be happy to assist you in organizing a visit to the Dian Fossey tomb.