Gorillas in the Mist

Gorillas in the Mist (1983) by American primatologist Dian Fossey follows her thirteen years of studying gorillas in the remote forests of Rwanda. She focuses on eight families of gorillas; over the years, she develops a genuine connection to several of them. The work was adapted to a major film in 1988, and it remains the bestselling work about gorillas of all time. Its themes include humanity’s connection to nature, the complex life of gorillas, and the value of patience in field-research.

This first-person work was praised for its humane stories and incorporation of the latest scientific research. With a PhD in Zoology from Cambridge, Fossey was the foremost expert in the world on great apes. The book also includes dozens of pictures of gorillas that Fossey and her employees took for National Geographic.

In the preface, Fossey notes that most scientists have ignored the mountain gorillas she has studied. While many historical records portray these animals as gross monsters, Fossey’s firsthand experience suggests they have a fairly advanced culture: their society is nuanced with a clear hierarchy, as well as a respect for previous generations and a memory of the dead.



Fossey urges her readers to recognize the differences between chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. She mourns that over the course of her study, this population has been halved, a fact which has redoubled her own conservation efforts.

The author first lands in Africa in 1963. She was so determined to venture into Africa that she took out a massive loan to finance her initial seven-week trip. Fossey had completed veterinary training at the University of California Davis, and post-graduate work at San Jose State University. When she traveled to an animal research site in Rwanda, she made a terrible impression on her host, Dr. Louis Leakey, after vomiting on a pair of fossils (she was incredibly sick from complications with a broken ankle). Fortunately, Dr. Leakey was so taken with Fossey’s enthusiasm that when he returned to the U.S., he encouraged her to return to Africa and continue her anthropological surveys.

One of the younger gorillas swings from the branches in an attempt to impress her. She names this one Icarus. The two older males and one older female she names after famous composers: Bartok, Brahms, and Beethoven. Being “accepted” by each gorilla was, Fossey writes, a tremendous accomplishment. On average, it took a year and a half for the gorillas to approach Fossey.



The three generations are a strong point of the study. With the help of a couple animal photographers, Alan and Joan Root, Fossey sets up a camp high in the mountains near the inactive volcano that the gorillas now call home. Her camp is called Karisoke because of the nearby river.

Fossey starts working with “Group 8.” She develops a friendly bond with Peanut, a plucky young chimp. The two play games: Fossey pretends to eat the same greens as the chimps; the two even play Simon Says. She discusses how each member of Group 8 has a unique sound for each of their family members. In Group 4, she meets a female gorilla who always looks at her sourly; Fossey names her “Old Goat.”

Fossey also discusses filming for National Geographic. The popular documentary about her journey edited footage from more than two thousand hours of observations from 1967 to 1972.



Her favorite gorilla is Digit, a young male who lacks the fear most gorillas show to humans. Digit is curious about Fossey and her employees, and he welcomes them all into his life. Fossey spends hundreds of hours with Digit. He is a very inquisitive ape and likes playing with their cameras and journals.

The gorillas display the kind of noble deeds that one would expect to belong to humans exclusively. Compared to some of the political rebels and poachers she encounters, the gorillas are nicer than the humans, Fossey writes. Her heart breaks when she finds that a poacher has shot Brahms with an arrow. In 1977, poachers kill, and then gratuitously mutilate Digit.

The mother and uncle of a baby gorilla named Kweli die trying to protect the baby from poachers. Kweli would be shot in the head and die a year later. Enraged by the illegal murders, Fossey follows the perpetrator to a corrupt park manager in the Rwandese government. She learns that he has been selling gorillas to zoos throughout Europe, and she publically draws attention to his illegal activities.



Fossey notes that far more gorillas die in the process of being captured then raised in a zoo; she makes fierce arguments against keeping wild animals in captivity. She continues to witness first-hand how poachers continue to decimate the gorilla population.

Fossey was murdered in her sleep in 1985, two years before this book was published. Her killers have not been found, but it is widely speculated that they were poachers. Through TV and her books, Fossey brought attention to the destruction of the rainforest and the cruel murder of apes; it was in the economic interest of several local groups to have her removed. She is buried at Karisoke next to the graves of other gorillas.