Peek into the lives of the people and gorillas at The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. The project has been dedicated to the conservation, protection and study of gorillas and their habitats in Africa since 1967.

The success of the project relies on educating the next generation of scientists and conservationists, while also investing in local people’s basic needs so that communities can thrive and work together to preserve gorillas and other wildlife.

Mountain Gorillas

• Conservation Status: Endangered. Population: 1004 remain
• Where They Live: Rwanda, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo
• Interesting Fact: Made famous by Dian Fossey; featured in the movie Gorillas in the Mist.
  

Grauer’s Gorillas

• Conservation Status: Critically Endangered. Population: Around 6,800 remain
• Where They Live: Democratic Republic Of Congo
• Interesting Fact: May be the most threatened of all the subspecies – has declined by ~60% in the past two decades.
  

Western Lowland

• Conservation Status: Critically Endangered. Population: Around 400,000 remain
• Where They Live: Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic Of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon
• Interesting Fact: Only gorilla subspecies found in zoos
  

Cross River Gorillas

• Conservation Status: Critically Endangered. Population: Around 300 remain
• Where They Live: Cameroon, Nigeria
• Interesting Fact:  Because so few are left and only in remote areas, this subspecies is mostly exclusively observed in camera trap images.
  

Adapted from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund website

During her early years at Karisoke, Fossey worked tirelessly in extremely difficult field conditions to document countless aspects of gorilla behavior and biology. In 1969, she rescued orphaned infants Coco and Pucker from near-death. Nursing them back to health at Karisoke helped her to understand behaviors, such as vocalization, that she could not observe in gorilla groups unaccustomed to her presence. With improved knowledge of gorilla behavior, Fossey later succeeded in habituating wild gorilla groups to human presence, allowing her to collect better data. Fossey collected audio recordings and skeletal materials, and conducted field observations to document the lives of Mountain Gorillas.

Simply maintaining the camp required great efforts by many individuals, including adequate funding and constant management. Karisoke was isolated and supplies had to be carried up the mountain on foot. There was no electricity or running water. Researchers lived in tents until Fossey eventually built small cabins for herself and her team.

Dian Fossey in the window of her cabin, 1969. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Porters walking to Mount Visoke, Rwanda 1969. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Dian Fossey editing audiotape recordings, Rwanda 1969. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Dian Fossey at field site sitting in rain, Rwanda, 1970. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Dian Fossey sitting on a bench in front of wood fire with kettles, Rwanda, 1971. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Dian Fossey with orphaned gorillas ‘Coco’ and ‘Pucker’, Rwanda 1969. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Mountain Gorillas live surprisingly close to people. Rwanda is Africa’s most densely populated country. With limited land, Rwandan families move ever higher up mountain slopes with a historical reliance on farming, trapping, hunting, free-grazing cattle and collecting firewood, clearing trees as they go. Activities continue to encroach on, shrink and fragment forest habitats, limiting the availability of the foods and shelter gorillas need to survive.

By the late 1800s, forest clearing had separated gorilla populations. Throughout the 1900s, human population growth in Rwanda made land scarce, so people bordering protected areas sought resources there out of necessity. Lack of park funding and sporadic rule enforcement exacerbated these problems. Fossey worked tirelessly to eliminate poaching, cattle grazing and human encroachment in the park.

Antipoaching patrol member [Nemeye?] driving encroaching Ankole cattle out of park, Rwanda, 1970. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Dian Fossey in skull mask approaching cattle herder Mutarutkwa, Rwanda, 1969. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Duiker trapped in a snare, Rwanda, 1969. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Dian Fossey reviewing anti-poaching guards with park conservator. Her pet blue monkey Kima stands on her arm, Rwanda, 1971. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Photograph of agricultural terraces on steep hills, Rwanda, 1969. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Dian Fossey documenting confiscated weapons and snares, Rwanda, 1969. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Mountain Gorillas are among the world’s most critically endangered species. They live only among the steep volcanic slopes of the Virunga Mountains in East Africa’s Albertine Rift, an area split by the borders of three nations: The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. Two active volcanoes further limit the gorillas’ territory. The dense vegetation of the cloud forest offers them ample food, while the steep terrain isolates them from threats. The gorillas’ survival is due in part to their protective habitat, which is unaccommodating and sometimes dangerous for humans.

Steep slopes in the Virunga mountains, 1971. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Silverback ‘Uncle Bert’, Rwanda, 1972. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Build Environment for Gorilla (BEGo) map of the Virunga massif. Image courtesy of European Space Agency 2005.

Bob Campbell, a British Kenyan resident, was an inexperienced photographer when he got a lucky break — National Geographic assigned him to document Fossey’s Mountain Gorilla research in 1969. Photographing jet-black gorillas in clouded forests was difficult with available photographic equipment. He proposed habituating the timid animals closer to humans, contradicting Fossey’s chosen scientific protocol. However, winning her approval allowed him to film historic first images of peaceful human-gorilla contact. His photographs captured the public’s attention in 1970 and 1971, earning worldwide recognition for Fossey and increasing interest in gorilla conservation. Campbell’s work at Karisoke and throughout East Africa contributed greatly to African wildlife photography.

Bob Campbell with orphaned gorillas Coco and Pucker and Dian’s dog Cindy, Rwanda, 1969. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Dian Fossey taking photo of gorilla skulls, 1971. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

‘Flossie’ with ‘Cleo’, Rwanda, 1972. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Dian Fossey remains one of few wildlife conservation figures recognized worldwide for her work. She founded the Karisoke Research Center for the study of Rwanda’s Mountain Gorillas in September 1967 and is credited with preventing their extinction. Despite her mysterious murder on December 26, 1985, the project continues to study and protect the lives of wild gorillas today. The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund is now the world’s longest running and largest organization dedicated fully to gorilla conservation and focuses on continuing Dian’s legacy of daily protection and study of gorilla families as well as training the next generation of African conservationists and helping local communities who share the gorillas’ forest home. Today Mountain Gorillas are among the most monitored wildlife species, thanks to Dian’s nearly 20-year residency at Karisoke.

Sanwekwe was a local tracker and is under-recognized for his contributions to gorilla research and conservation. He guided Carl Akeley to Mt. Mikeno in the 1920s, tracking the specimens still on exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History. In 1959, he tracked gorillas for George Schaller’s behavioral and census research. Through his expertise, Fossey learned gorilla behavior and tracking. She credits Sanwekwe’s involvement for the success of her first gorilla photographs at Kabara in 1963. He later worked with her at Karisoke.

Gorilla protection once focused on excluding local people like Sanwekwe from parks, but current conservation practice depends on community participation. Local involvement in wildlife conservation and tourism fosters community investment in natural resources. This approach is essential, as people are one of the greatest threats to wildlife in Africa.

These images captured historic firsts that changed popular understanding of gorillas. In June 1969, Campbell documented Fossey in visual contact with Rafiki and Peanuts, members of Group 8. Before this moment, no person had been photographed in the same frame with a wild Mountain Gorilla. One year later, in June 1970, Campbell documented the first peaceful physical contact between a Mountain Gorilla, Peanuts (one of Fossey’s research gorillas), and a human. National Geographic published images from the event, showing Peanuts and Fossey in close contact, though the shutter did not quite capture the moment of Peanuts’ touch. Fossey called this one of the most memorable moments of her life.

Silverback “Rafiki watches Dian. Group 8.” Young blackback Peanuts is also visible, Rwanda, 1969. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Fossey with blackback gorilla Peanuts, Rwanda, 1970. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Gorillas are highly social, living in groups averaging about nine individuals. There is a hierarchy relating to sex, age and dominance within each group, led by a silverback male identifiable by a patch of silver fur on his back. Gorilla groups typically include females, blackback (young) males, juveniles and infants.

Behavioral researchers identify both groups and individuals. Observing and understanding individual personalities improves accuracy when monitoring and recording behavior. Habituated groups are conditioned to accept human presence and are strictly regulated, balancing research with tourism for gorilla well-being. Having researchers and tourists on the ground can benefit a gorilla population and protect them from poachers and illegal hunting. Mountain Gorilla groups are monitored closely, often accompanied by a researcher or tracker from morning until night.

Dian Fossey with orphaned gorillas ‘Coco’ and ‘Pucker’, Rwanda 1969. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Male gorilla, Rwanda, 1972. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Infant or young gorilla, Rwanda, 1972. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Young silverback gorilla Pug, Rwanda 1970. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Gorilla family group [mother Effie and infant Tuck?], Rwanda, 1972. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Infant gorilla eating berries, Rwanda, 1969. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.

Young gorilla gazing back at camera lens, Rwanda, 1972. Photo courtesy of the George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, from the Bob Campbell Papers, Special & Area Studies Collections. Gift of Heather Campbell.