The second was meeting Joan and Alan Root in Uganda, close to the Virunga Mountains. Meeting Leakey was a major turning point in Fossey’s life. Just a few years earlier, he supported Jane Goodall and her work with chimpanzees, which was only 3 years old at the time. He was a famous paleoanthropologist and archaeologist who demonstrated that humans evolved in Africa and promoted primate field research. One of her final stops on this excursion was the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, where she met Dr. During this first trip, she traveled to Kenya, Tanzania, Congo and Zimbabwe. In 1963, she took out a bank loan along with her entire life savings and made her way to Africa. Learn more about both her life, her work and it’s legacy along with her darker side and actions.įossey always wanted to travel the world and go to Africa so when a friend returned from there after a vacation with pictures and stories, Dian knew it was her turn to travel. Ultimately her actions may have led to her murder. On the other hand, her actions towards poachers and other people in Rwanda ranged from unkind to criminal and horrifying. On one hand she paved the way for a better life for generations of gorillas like little Macibiri, promoted conservation, and persevered as a woman during a time people were openly hostile to women in science. Along with Jane Goodall (chimpanzees) and Biruté Galdikas (orangutans), these women together were known as the “Trimates.”įossey’s life and work is a study in contradictions. Her perseverance and passion led her to be one of the world’s most influential primatologists. Fossey advanced gorilla research and conservation forward at a time when it was much needed. Her name came from Nyiramacibirim, Fossey’s nickname in the Kinyarwanda language. Little Macibiri is actually the granddaughter of a silverback leader, Titus, Fossey herself studied in the 70s. Macibiri was named after Dian Fossy, the primatologist and anthropologist, who established Karisoke and began what is now known as The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. September 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of the Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda, Africa. Though Rwanda’s annual gorilla naming ceremony occurs each year, last year’s baby gorilla name was special. Last fall, a baby gorilla in Rwanda was named Macibiri by the CEO of the Fossey Fund. This post is an installment in our "Meet a Scientist" Series
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