A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On Dec. 27, 1985, American naturalist Dian Fossey, 53, who had studied mountain gorillas in Africa for nearly 20 years, was found murdered in her cabin in Rwanda.
Per news accounts, the last entry in the well-known researcher’s diary, which was found in her cabin, read: “When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate on the preservation of the future.”
Fossey had been killed with a machete, a tool used by poachers in the area to hunt and kill the gorilla for resale. Some assumed that the poachers of the area, which Fossey had fought hard for nearly a decade, had her killed to make their lives easier.
And although Fossey’s American research assistant — Wayne McGuire — was convicted in absentia for the crime, there is no consensus as to who killed her.
Today, Fossey is buried next to her dead gorilla friends, many of which had been killed by the very poachers that likely hunted her. After her death, memorial services were held in Washington, D.C., New York and California. The cabins in which she and her staff lived do not exist anymore except for a few bare foundations, overgrown with weeds.
Her life was immortalized in the movie, “Gorillas in the Mist,” with actress Sigourney Weaver playing Fossey.
Another note: Fossey, who died in 1985, had projected that the primates may be extinct by 2000. Instead, their populations have been slowly increasing in the past few years thanks to sustained and well-funded international conservation efforts, including the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
For Fossey and Jane Goodall, age 90, and Louis Leakey before them, the study of primates has been their life work. Fossey gave her all for the cause.
Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about Fossey, Goodall, the study of primates, and safety issues in the wilds of Africa:
“Fossey’s death needs probing, accused man says”
“Gorilla’s have (body) language all their own”
“‘Nature’ remembers ‘Born Free,’ 50 years later”
“Rare conservation win: Mountain gorilla population ticks up”
“Don’t hide experience or age, Weaver advises”
“Goodall shifts focus, fights for animal rights”
“Westminster teams up with Goodall”
“Jane Goodall awarded Templeton Prize for lifelong conservation efforts”
“Jane Goodall, primatologist and frequent flyer”
“Goodall works to save chimps orphaned by African poachers”
“Rwanda rebellion threatens gorillas, increased poaching”
“Rwanda: A close look at rare mountain gorillas”
“Adventure seekers should know risks of visiting war zones”
“Monkeys shine in some lesser-known films”
