How did Dian Fossey get interested in gorillas?

While working as an occupational therapist, Dian Fossey became interested in primates during a trip to Africa in 1963. Fossey told her story in the book Gorillas in the Mist (1983), which was later adapted for a film starring Sigourney Weaver.

What was Dian Fossey’s childhood like?

Childhood. Dian was a second generation English Immigrant on her father’s side. She lived her younger years in California Her parents separated when she was at an early age due to her father’s heavy drinking and involvement with the law. Dian stayed with her mother who later remarried to a Richard Price.

How did Dian Fossey get interested in animals?

Her parents divorced when she was young, so Dian grew up with her mother and stepfather. By all accounts, she was an excellent student and was extremely interested in animals from a very young age. At age 6, she began horseback riding lessons and in high school earned a letter on the riding team.

How old was Dian Fossey when her parents divorced?

Dian Fossey was born on 16 th January 1932, in San Francisco, California. Her parents divorced when she was still young and she therefore grew up with her mother and her step father. Dian developed love for animals at an early age and at the age of 6 she started horseback riding lessons.

Where was dr.dian Fossey found murdered?

World-renowned primatologist Dian Fossey is found murdered in Rwanda. On this day in 1985, primatologist and conservationist Dr. Dian Fossey is found murdered in her cabin at Karisoke, a research site in the mountains of Rwanda.

When did Dian Fossey go on an African tour?

Dian Fossey was once asked to join the Henrys on an African tour. Although she turned down the offer at first due to lack of finances, later she borrowed $8,000 and took out her life savings to make this trip a reality. Finally in September 1963, Fossey arrived in Nairobi, Kenya.

Where did Dian Fossey live most of her life?

Dian Fossey was born in San Francisco, Calif., in 1932. Her parents divorced when she was young, so Dian grew up with her mother and stepfather. By all accounts, she was an excellent student and was extremely interested in animals from a very young age.

How did Dian Fossey become interested in gorillas?

While working as an occupational therapist, Dian Fossey became interested in primates during a trip to Africa in 1963. She studied the endangered gorillas of the Rwandan mountain forest for two decades before her unsolved murder occurred in 1985, at Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.

Why was Dian Fossey murdered in her cabin?

In December 1985, she was brutally murdered in her cabin at a camp in Rwanda. It is believed that the great primatologist’s murder was linked to her conservation efforts. Dian Fossey was born on January 16, 1932 in San Francisco, California, the USA to Kathryn, a fashion model, and her husband, George E. Fossey III, an insurance agent.

Why was Louis Leakey interested in Dian Fossey?

Back in Kentucky, Dian Fossey caught up with Louis Leakey at a lecture in Louisville in 1966, and he invited her to take on a long-term study of the endangered gorillas of the Rwandan mountain forest (Leakey believed that researching primates would greatly benefit the study of human evolution).