Dian Fossey, born in 1932, dedicated her life to learning as much as she could about the mountain gorillas, in order to protect them from poachers and other threats. She spent years getting to know individual gorillas and their families.

Matthews, Tom L. Light Shining Through the Mist: a Photobiography of Dian Fossey. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1998. Print.
Location: Africana, Basement B249
Call Number: 599.8846 F752Zm

“Sunrise over the Virungas. The cloud-covered peak of Mt. Mikeno and the darkened slopes of Mt. Visoke.”

Nichols, Michael and George B. Schaller. Gorilla: Struggle for Survival in the Virungas. New York: Aperture Foundation, 1989. Print.
Location: Africana, Basement B249
Call Number: L 599.8846 N621g

“Mountain Gorilla, Rwanda. Gorillas eat vast quantities of vegetable matter, including leaves, roots, bark and fruits. However, unlike insects, which have limited intelligence and mobility, gorillas can both make choices of feeding matter and move around to select the choicest leaves, so they do not need to evolve to feed specifically on one species of leaf. Although it has almost no animal predators, extensive poaching now means that the mountain gorillas is greatly endangered.”

Silcock, Lisa (ed.). The Rainforests: a Celebration. London: Barrie & Jenkins LTD, 1989. Reprint 1990.
Location: Africana, Basement B249
Call Number: L 574.52642 R156