Dian Fossey: Animal Rights Activist and Protector of Mountain Gorillas

Dian Fossey: Animal Rights Activist and Protector of Mountain Gorillas — page 9
Dian on the other hand had her own techniques for protecting gorillas and dealing with the people who threatened them Her sometimes-violent methods terrified the local African people Eventually her tactics became a cause of concern for everyone who knew her At the same time many researchers questioned Dian’s unusual study techniques They felt her approach to her work was unscientific Certainly nobody denied Dian’s significant contributions to gorilla research but as she spent more and more time alone in the jungle even her supporters began to question her abilities and her sanity BorN Free In 1960 Joy wrote a book called Born Free In 1956 in Kenya an Austrian naturalist named Joy Adamson and her husband George took in an orphaned lion cub They named the little one Elsa raised her taught her to fend for herself and released her back into her natural habitat Elsa was the first lioness ever successfully released into the wild She went on to have a litter of cubs but sadly Elsa died from a tick bite at age five It was about her work with African lions in general and with Elsa in particular It became an international bestseller and in 1966 it was made into a movie With her book Joy became the first person to raise awareness of the plight of endangered animals in Africa Not everyone appreciated her work though Joy was murdered by poachers in 1980 12