Dian Fossey was born on January 16, 1932, and went on to live up to December 26, 1985, San Francisco, United States of America. She was a primatologist (researcher with an inclination to the study of primates) who gave her final years devoted to the study of mountain gorillas in the Virunga region (D.R Congo, Rwanda and Uganda). She started her works in the Virunga region from 1966 and took on research studies of these primates until 1985 (when she was murdered).
Till today, the actual perpetrators of her death are still unresolved, and the cause of death uncertain. Her story is inspirational and equally telling (in as far as the struggles and challenges she underwent to realize her successes). She was greatly influenced to venture into primatology by Louis Leakey (who even funded some of her earliest trips in Africa), George Schaller and Jane Goodall (who had invested in research studies about the chimpanzees).
The research world and mountain gorilla conservation family were never left with nothing to hold onto, as she left us with a book titled “Gorillas in the Mist,” which she wrote and published, shortly before she was gruesomely murdered. It detailed her scientific encounters and studies of these primates and gave new age primatologists more reasons as to why they should engage in mountain gorilla research studies. In 1976, she published her research thesis that was titled “The behavior of a mountain gorilla.”
Presently, conservation studies about endangered primates are at the highest levels in Virunga region, as a consequence of Dian’s efforts. Although she trekked all the Virunga member countries, she spent much of the time in Rwanda (20 years), and this was greatly because of the political environment at the time.
She had a favorite mountain gorilla friend named ‘Digit’. Digit was among the first mountain gorillas she had taken on to study. The studies were successful and Digit had successfully been habituated. Digit was later killed in the year 1977. He fell to death from spears of poachers as he tried to save other individuals from poaching. Digit’s death left Dian disturbed. This experience took her into depression. She later founded a conservation Fund named after Digit. With time, the Fund’s name was changed to Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. The institute still runs at Karisoke, and has had significant expansion in recent years.
Location of Dian’s tomb.
Her tomb is located in the heart of Volcanoes National Park. Some time in 1967, she founded a research institute which she named Karisoke Research Center. This became a popular center of mountain gorilla conservation research. The name was crafted out of the research center’s location. The center’s founding location was in-between Mountains Karisimbi and Bisoke. No wonder, she chose to use ‘Kari’ severed from Karisimbi, and combined it with ‘Soke’ coined from Bisoke, to form the research center’s name ‘Karisoke’.
When tourists get to the Volcanoes National Park headquarters, they are later driven off to the location of Karisoke Research camp. This usually takes up to about 45 minutes. The next journey from here is often on foot, to the boundary of this national park and this can take about 10-15 minutes. From thereon, visitors are engaged in another walk that takes an average of one hour and while walking to the Karisoke Research Center, they get to have captivating views of different wildlife like forest elephants. Additionally, they get to see numerous beautiful birds, primates and other creatures.
When visitors get to the research center, they get engaged in a walk around Dian’s grave, as they are told the story on how it all got to that. This is done during the hike. Near this grave site, there’s a preserved house, her camp house, from where she was murdered. That’s the first site visitors get to visit. They then head to the grave site itself. Before Dian was murdered, she had always told the closest people she ever interacted with (after Digit’s murder), that when she dies, she should be buried next to Digit. Those who lived after her regrettable demise, respected and fulfilled her wish. There, next to Digit, she was laid to rest. Around her grave, are others of identifiable popular gorillas that were similarly gruesomely murdered by poachers. The tourists finally, get to pay their respects. Hiking Dian’s tomb is therefore not only physically fulfilling, but emotional too.
Best time to visit Dian Fossey Tomb.
The best time to visit Dian’s tomb is during the summer (July-September and December-February).
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