Explore the fascinating life and legacy of groundbreaking primatologist and conservationist Dian Fossey, who made it her life's mission to understand and protect mountain gorillas.
In 1963, young American Dian Fossey spent all her savings and took out a loan to realize her dream-to go to Africa. Fossey had no experience or formal scientific training, but she was smart, passionate, and strong-willed. She met paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey, who helped her pursue her goal of studying animals in the wild. Fossey set up a research camp and threw herself into tracking and observing mountain gorillas. Over the next 18 years, Fossey got closer to gorillas than any human ever had before, as she learned to mimic their behavior and became accepted by them. Fossey worked to protect her beloved gorillas from poachers and other threats-no matter what the cost.
Sadly, Fossey was murdered at her camp in 1985, and to this day, her death remains a mystery. But her legacy lives on. In 1973 Fossey recorded only 275 gorillas living in Volcanoes National Park. There are about twice that many today. As Jane Goodall once said, "If Dian had not been there, there might be no mountain gorillas in Rwanda today."
Hardcover for ages 8-12.
