By Audrey Borsa Beyond Rachel Carson Dian Fossey By Audrey Borsa Beyond Rachel Carson

Background She spent most of her time in Africa. Born on January 16, 1932, in Fair Fax, California which is near San Francisco. When she went to Africa she got kicked out of her camp and relocated to Rwanda, Africa. She lived there for 18 years with the gorillas. Died December 26, 1985. Was murdered in her cabin She was 53 years old when she died. She spent most of her time in Africa.

Education and Focus Fossey went to Marin Junior College where she was instructed to study business by her step father, but she found that boring and dropped out. She decided to follow her own path and go to the University of California, but she failed. Because of this failure, she decided to work with damaged children, transferred to San Jose State College, earned a BA in occupational therapy, and got a job at Kosair Hospital. A co-worker, Mary White, invited her to go to Africa with her, but she could not afford it. Fossey then saved the money for three years and could finally explore Africa. After a few weeks, she came back to Louisville to continue her job as an occupational therapist. Returned to Africa to set up her camp and study gorillas. After she came back from Africa in 1974, she earmed her Ph.D from Cambridge University.

Digit “Dian became very attached to a certain gorilla she named Digit. She was able to watch him grow and he was just as fond of her as she was of him. After a few years into their relationship, Dian found Digit killed by poachers. Poachers would use the heads, hand, and feet of the gorillas to make money. In response to the killing of Digit, Dian started a campaign against gorilla poaching. This problem caused large donations from readers on the National Geographic, where an article on Dian's work was published. With this money, she established the Digit Fund and dedicated her life to saving gorillas.” http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/fossey.html

“The more you learn about the dignity of the gorilla, the more you want to avoid people.” Dian Fossey Gorilla in the Mist-Movie Nyiramachabelli-Opera Woman in the Mist-Book No One Loved Gorillas More-Book The Dark Romance of Dian Fossey-Book