Dian Fossey: Animal Rights Activist and Protector of Mountain Gorillas

Dian Fossey: Animal Rights Activist and Protector of Mountain Gorillas — page 5
was looking for another researcher This time he was seeking someone to undertake a long term study of mountain gorillas He asked Dian if she would like to be that person She was stunned by the offer she had no formal training and she was 34 years old Surely she was too old and inexperienced for such a project Louis told Dian that her maturity was an advantage and that her passion was more important than scientific training I have no use Famous Fossil Family Louis Leakey was born in Kenya in 1903 His parents were British missionaries who worked with Kenya’s largest tribal group the Kikuyu Louis spoke Kikuyu before he spoke English When he was 13 he was initiated into the tribe and given the name Wakaruigi or Son of the sparrow hawk As a child Louis often wandered through the wilderness He occasionally found arrowheads and stone tools which sparked his interest in the history of humanity When he was a 21-year-old anthropology student Louis went on his first archaeological dig in Africa At the time experts believed humanity had originated in Asia Louis believed it had begun in Africa In 1931 he began his work at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania an area rich in fossils In 1936 he married Mary Nichols also an anthropologist Together they made a number of important finds including skulls teeth bones and tools These discoveries proved human ancestors had lived in Africa millions of years ago Louis also believed that long-term studies of great apes which are genetically similar to humans would teach scientists much about human evolution which is the gradual development of humans over a long period of time He commissioned Jane Goodall Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas to undertake such studies Louis and Mary’s son Richard and his wife Meave continue Louis’s work today as does granddaughter Louise Louis Leakey died in 1972 88