Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International is dedicated to the conservation, protection and study of gorillas and their habitats in Africa. Founded originally by Dian Fossey as the Digit Fund, the organization has since grown to incorporate a holistic and integrated approach, which includes close collaboration with local communities as well as partners from around the world. In addition, we believe that the value of our work is even more far reaching. When gorillas are protected, so are their important forest habitats, which are important ecosystems that support our planet and all life on earth.

Mountain gorillas have been monitored and studied closely since Dian Fossey began her work with them in 1967, after establishing the Karisoke Research Center. She started the process of habituating them to the presence of human observers, so that she could closely observe and document their behaviors, status, movements and other important information. Today, Fossey Fund trackers and researchers protect and study roughly half of all the mountain gorillas in Rwanda, with the other half protected by the Rwandan national park authorities.

In Rwanda, the Fossey Fund also has dedicated anti-poaching teams, which patrol specific sectors of the gorilla habitat to seek and guard against illegal activities in the forest, especially poacher activity, such as snares set to entrap animals. The snares are intended for antelopes and small game animals, but they can cause serious injury or death to gorillas as well. Our anti-poaching teams also record other illegal activities in the forest, such as wood cutting or water collection. All such information is provided to the Park Authority to be combined with the other anti-poaching data collected throughout the park to determine the best methods for protecting the forest.

Unlike the mountain gorillas, most of the Grauer’s gorillas we work with in Congo have not been extensively protected or studied outside one small area in Kahuzi-Biega National Park. They are considered one of the world’s 25 most-endangered primates and an estimated 80 percent have been lost in the last 20 years. Since most Grauer’s gorillas live outside protected areas, engaging local communities in conservation efforts is essential.

The Fossey Fund is now tracking and studying these Grauer’s gorillas daily, which provides critical protection as well as the data needed to develop effective conservation strategies. Our long-term goal is to double the number of Grauer’s gorillas receiving such protection over the next 3-5 years, which would cover about 10 percent of the entire remaining population.