Biography of dian fossey

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Who Was Dian Fossey?

While working as an occupational therapist, Dian Fossey became interested in primates during a trip to Africa in She studied the endangered gorillas of the Rwandan mountain forest for two decades before her unsolved murder occurred in , at Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Fossey told her story in the book Gorillas in the Mist (), which was later adapted for a film starring Sigourney Weaver.

Early Life

Fossey was born on January 16, , in San Francisco, California, and grew up with her mother and stepfather. Developing an affinity for animals at a young age, throughout her youth, Fossey was an avid horseback rider and an aspiring veterinarian. However, after enrolling in pre-veterinary studies at the University of California, Davis, she transferred to San Jose State College and changed her major to occupational therapy.

After graduating from San Jose in , Fossey spent several months working as a hospital intern in California and then moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where she began serving as director of the Kosair Crippled Children's Hospital's occupational therapy department in Living on a farm on the outskirts of Louisville, Fossey spent many off-hours happily tending to the livestock. But her contentment didn't last long. She soon became restless, longing to see other parts of the world and setting her sights on Africa.

'Gorillas in the Mist'

In September , Fossey embarked on her first trip to Africa—which cost Fossey her entire life savings at the time, as well as a bank loan—visiting Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and the Congo, among other areas. She soon met paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey and her husband, archaeologist Louis Leakey, one of the best-known husband-wife teams in the history of science.

Fossey then met Joan and Alan Root, native wildlife photographers who were working on a documentary of African gorillas at the time, and when the couple brought her along on one of their trips in search of the prim

Imagine you are hiking through the thick green mountains of Rwanda, a country deep in the heart of Africa.  It is wet and dark in the dense leaves, plants and vines and you and your team use machetes, which are large knives, to cut through the foliage as you make your way to your destination.  There is no path for you to follow, so you use animal tracks and signs.  Finally you cut through to an open area and stop in your tracks. Everyone goes quiet. Gorillas. Dozens of them lying around and frolicking in the mist. They are exactly what you have been looking for.

Tonight we are going to learn about Dian Fossey &#; an American woman who loved animals and grew up to become a famous zoologist, or someone who studies animal behavior.

Dian Fossey was born in San Francisco, California in   She grew up with her mother and stepfather and developed a strong love of animals at a young age.  She enjoyed horseback riding as a kid and teenager and she dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. A veterinarian is a doctor for animals.

Dian went to college in California and started studying veterinary courses, but decided to change and study occupational therapy instead.  Occupational therapy is a type of therapy that helps people who are injured or unwell to learn to use their bodies again.

After she finished college, Dian worked at a hospital in California.  She was offered a job as the director of a children’s hospital’s occupational department in Kentucky, so she moved there in In Kentucky, Dian lived on a farm and spent a lot of her free time with the farm animals.   

Dian had decided that she wanted to travel and see other parts of the world. And she really wanted to visit Africa.  So she saved up her money and in , she traveled to Africa for the first time.  While she was there, she traveled to many countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and the Congo.  

In Africa Dian met a number of other scie

American primatologist and conservationist (–)

Dian Fossey (dy-AN; January 16, – c.&#;December 26, ) was an American primatologist and conservationist known for undertaking an extensive study of mountain gorilla groups from until her murder in She studied them daily in the mountain forests of Rwanda, initially encouraged to work there by paleoanthropologistLouis Leakey. Gorillas in the Mist, a book published two years before her death, is Fossey's account of her scientific study of the gorillas at the Karisoke Research Center and prior career. It was adapted into a film of the same name.

Fossey was a leading primatologist, and a member of the "Trimates", a group of female scientists recruited by Leakey to study great apes in their natural environments, along with Jane Goodall who studies chimpanzees, and Birutė Galdikas, who studies orangutans.

Fossey spent 20 years in Rwanda, where she supported conservation efforts, strongly opposed poaching and tourism in wildlife habitats, and made more people acknowledge the sapience of gorillas. Following the killing of a gorilla and subsequent tensions, she was murdered in her cabin at a remote camp in Rwanda in December Although Fossey's American research assistant was convicted in absentia, there is no consensus as to who killed her.

Her research and conservation work helped reduce the downward population trend in mountain gorillas.

Early life

Fossey was born in San Francisco, California, the daughter of Hazel (née Kidd), a fashion model, and George Edward Fossey III, a real estate agent and business owner. Her parents divorced when she was six. Her mother remarried the following year, to businessman Richard Price. Her father tried to keep in contact, but her mother discouraged it, and all contact was subsequently lost. Fossey's stepfather, Richard Price, never treated her as his own c

Dian Fossey was an American primatologist and conservationist known for her extensive study of the mountain gorilla. Her research and conservation work helped increase the number of mountain gorillas in the wild. While her passing was marred with violence, her teachings and wisdom have left a legacy in conservation that will continue for generations to come. 

Fossey was born in San Francisco, California, and developed a fondness for animals when she was a young girl. She received her bachelor's degree in occupational therapy in and then worked as an occupational therapist in a hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. The friendships she would make at this hospital would propel her to take a different path and become the world-famous conservationist we know today.

Fossey had a close relationship with a coworker who had invited Fossey on an African tour but was unable to join due to her finances. Her longing to visit Africa did not stop there, and after taking out a bank loan and using her life savings, she was finally able to secure the budget needed to make her dream come true. 

On her tour, she met with Louis and Mary Leakey, who had an archeological site in Tanzania. Together they discussed the work of English primatologist Jane Goodall and the importance of long-term research on the great apes. While Goodall was only in her third year of research, the Leakeys knew her contributions would be everlasting in the great ape scientific community. Eventually, this interest in continuing the study of great apes would be carried on by Fossey. 

“I believe it was at this time the seed was planted in my head, even if unconsciously, that I would someday return to Africa to study the gorillas of the mountains.”  — Dian Fossey, "Gorillas in the Mist"

She returned to Kansas with vigor for travel and published three articles in the newspaper detailing her visit to Africa.

Befriending the Leakys was the first crucial step in her conservationist career, as t