Dian Fossey’s touching statement on the sanctity of life is inked in blood: her own. On the next morning, 27 December 1985, the renowned gorilla researcher was found murdered in her room on the Karisoke Gorilla Research Centre park. Though her murder has never been solved, it is not the mystery of her death that makes Fossey’s life notable but the breadth of her love for all life and the way in which it showed through her own.
Much like the notable experts in magical creatures—Newt Scamander and Luna Lovegood (see our feature on her on page 9)—Fossey committed her life to research animal behaviours and the ways in which humans interact with them.
Though known for her treatises on gorilla behaviour and society, Fossey was not classically trained in the animal sciences. Rather, Fossey received a muggle bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy and began to work in a Children’s Hospital. Through her connections at the hospital, she travelled to Africa for seven weeks to study animals in the wild.
In 1967, Fossey founded the Karisoke Research Centre to study and protect the wild gorillas of Rwanda. Fossey was one of the first to be able to directly approach and interact with wild gorillas by imitating their behaviours in the wild until they accepted her as their own. She often attributed her success to her earlier work with autistic children.
Fossey was virulently anti-poaching throughout her lifetime. Gorillas were and still are victims of poaching due to a misguided muggles belief that body parts from the gorillas could pass on magical properties—obviously impossible, since gorillas are non-magical creatures. The Wizarding Council of the African Nations denounced the actions among their own people, but given the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, could do little to protect against the horrendous and misplaced muggle practice.
Fossey also was against the placement of baby animals, particularly gorillas, into muggle containments named zoos. While the efforts were all in hope of preserving the species, the methods of obtaining infant gorillas often resulted in the deaths of adult gorillas as they are highly societal and protective animals. (To imagine this, think of trying to retrieve a dragon egg from its mother without the use of a wand!)
As Albus Dumbledore said, “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” It is this familial attachment of gorillas that is one of Dian Fossey’s greatest discoveries to date: not only humans but also gorillas and certainly other members of our beloved animal community display the love and attachment of family.
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muggle of the month:
DIAN FOSSEY
“When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future."