Dian Fossey

Fossey, Dian (1932–85), U.S. zoologist. A graduate of San Jose State College, Fossey went to Africa in 1963 to study the wild mountain gorilla. In 1966 she was selected by British anthropologist Louis Leakey to conduct a long-term study of the gorilla. Fossey studied the animals daily, learning their habits. When some of the gorillas were killed, she directed her work toward the protection of the animals from poachers and the preservation of their habitat. She founded the Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda, where she lived for 18 years. She was murdered in 1985. Her book Gorillas in the Mist (1983) and the movie with the same title (1988) tell her story.

See also: Zoology.