Dian Fossey

Hello! My name is Dian Fossey. When I was a little girl, born on January 16th, 1932, I loved animals more than anything. I grew up in a city called San Francisco, but I dreamed of open fields and wild creatures. I wanted to be an animal doctor, but some of my classes were tricky. So instead, I learned to help people as an occupational therapist. But in my heart, I always knew I belonged with animals.

In 1963, I saved up all my money for a big adventure—a trip to Africa! It was even more amazing than I had imagined. I saw so many incredible animals. The most magical moment was when I saw mountain gorillas for the very first time. They were so big but so peaceful. I also met a famous scientist named Dr. Louis Leakey. He saw how much I cared about the gorillas and encouraged me to come back to study them.

A few years later, in 1967, I did it! I moved to the mountains of Rwanda, a country in Africa. I set up a little camp called the Karisoke Research Center. At first, the gorillas were very shy. If I got too close, they would run away. So, I had to be very patient. I pretended to be a gorilla! I copied their grunts and noises and even pretended to munch on celery stalks, just like them. Slowly, they started to trust me. I gave them names, and one of my favorites was a brave gorilla named Digit.

Living with the gorillas, I saw that they were in danger. Some people, called poachers, were trying to hurt them. This made me very sad and very determined. The gorillas were my family, and I had to protect them. I would chase the poachers away and break their traps. It was hard work, and sometimes it was scary, but I knew I had to be the voice for my gentle friends who couldn't speak for themselves.

I wrote a book called 'Gorillas in the Mist' in 1983 to share my story and teach everyone that gorillas are wonderful, gentle giants. My life came to an end while I was still in Rwanda in 1985. I lived to be 53 years old. But my work didn't stop. The people who I worked with kept protecting the gorillas. Today, the number of mountain gorillas is growing. I am so happy that my friends are safer now, and I hope you will always remember to be kind to every animal, big and small.