Name ______
“Gorillas in the Mist” discussion questions
Who is Dr. Leaky?
What is Dian Fossey’s job in Africa?
Dian Fossey made her first trip to Africa in 1963, where she met Dr. Louis Leakey at the famous archeological site of Olduvai Gorge.
Who is her guide and what does he know how to track?
What is gorilla spore?
What does the book say about gorillas chasing you?
Why are the African soldiers so violent?
Why does Dian decide to stay in Africa?
What does she call the first group of gorillas?
How does Dian get close to the gorillas?
Describe some of the actions she uses to attract the gorillas’ attention.
“If they want a witch, I’ll give them a witch.” Describe this statement of Dian Fossey’s and what did she do?
Describe the Silverback’s hands.
Who is Bob Campbell?
Why are the African gorillas being trapped?
Dian Fossey returned to Africa in December 1966, to begin a long-term study of the mountain gorillas, under the auspices of Dr. Leakey. She initially set up camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire) but due to political upheaval moved to Rwanda in 1967.
What do Dian and Bob do when the gorilla charges at them?
Describe how Dian and Bob move when they are around the gorillas.
Which gorilla holds Dian’s hand?
What does “the witch” look like?
How does Dian react after she rescues the baby?
Why aren’t the gorillas protected by the government?
How does Dian get protection from gorilla poachers?
How did the poachers get Dian’s hair for the “voo-doo” doll?
Why doesn’t Dian want to leave with Bob Chapman to study primates in Borneo?
FIVE YEARS LATER (1977)
How does Dian handle meeting the gorilla when she is with her research students?
What is Van Beckton doing with the Batwhah natives?
What happened to Digit and why did it happen?
The poachers were locals making money off of the hands, heads and feet of the gorillas. The heads were used as wall decorations and hands and feet as ashtrays. Dian's reputation with the locals was not always very good. She often played with the notion that they thought she was a witch (because of local Black Magic beliefs) and played the role of a witch while interrogating poachers they had caught.
She also was threatened to be kicked out by the government because she suspected involvement with the poachers and Rwandan government. She continuously had to legalize her paper and work permits to further her work.
Explain Dian’s behavior after she found Digit’s body.
Who are the first gorillas she visits upon her return?
Who is Simba?
Digit is Simba’s father. How do we know?
How does Dian defend “her mountain”?
Unnatural Death
Dian Fossey was murdered by an unknown attacker in her cabin at the KarisokeResearchCenter in the VirungaMountains in 1985. The attacker hacked her to death by what investigators believe to be a machete. They entered through a hole in the wall prior to the attack. No arrests have ever been made, but local authorities believe it to be poachers who were at odds with Dian and her anti-poaching brigade of but a few soldiers.
Photo of Dian Fossey's grave at the Karisoke Research Station; she is interred beside the graves of her gorilla friends