Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1988)
H te The Battalion Section B Thursday, September 1, 1988 d theirtij 1 surviv, nouslyJ f Pul abom i) ):4 0a,® roup tries to continue fossey work in Africa -New movie hoped to draw funds, interest saidtoj 1 vver e.ir- d belt; (l .l WEDITOR'S NO DE — Dian Fossey 'ck o|> tluc'ht hard to protect the remnants o\ Africa’s mountain gorillas and ap- y thj. |Brenf/y paid for it with her life. | ck Ij.'b N ()W (hose who carry on her work tluu li M n y . l ^ e h°pe that a forthcoming 1 plant'■ w ' // e on fossey's singular adven- ared B ie W7 ^ spur the public’s interest "Bid donations. ■ ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP)—The ■ad of a fund that carries on pri- k Bate researcher Dian Fossey’s work ■ter her murder in Africa expects a " Hovie about Fossey’s life to pique the public’s interest in the sometimes Hagic plight of the endangered lountain gorilla. ■ Claude Ramsey, head of the Digit Tind — which continues Fossey’s )rk today through the Englewood- ised Morris Animal Foundation — • hoping that the film this fall will ? ansi keep pressure on gorilla poachers ■d heighten awareness of one of ■e closest primate relatives of man. I Fewer than 400 of the huge, gen- tl< apes remain in the world today, ■one of them in captivity. Most live in Rwanda’s Parc National des Vol- Kns in central Africa’s Virunga Mountains, where Fossey conducted her studies. ■ “The gorillas come across as very ■iendly in the movie,” Ramsey said. 24-3(1 ielf f, ion \ major rain, dlutioi the i emin en, fit up and list’s going to make the world a lot ; ■ore conscious of the gorillas and to hisBie problem of poaching. fhursdiH “Since Dian Fossey’s death, poach- «t Ji ing has diminished. There’s a full.” “Gorillas in the Mist,” also the title the book Fossey wrote about her search, will feature actress Sigour- |ey Weaver as the American re archer. I Fossey went to Rwanda in early 1967 at the urging of anthropologist Dr. Louis Leakey and stayed on until ler murder, w r hen she was 53, at Ka- ■soke Research Center on Mount f iske. I The Morris Animal Foundation lopes that the mojne that documents tossey’s workwill spur public dona tions to the Digit Fund. I Ramsey said that Karisoke Re search Center needs $65,000 in funds to keep up maintenance and $100,000 worth of capital im provements. Fossey founded the Digit Fund in 1978, naming it after a male gorilla she had befriended and studied clo sely for 10 years before it was killed by poachers on 12,000-foot Mount Visoke. His head and hands were cut off to be sold as souvenirs. “I am anxious to establish a ‘Digit Fund’ to attempt to raise money to “/ suspect he (the killer) was hired, or suborned, by influential people who in creasingly viewed Dian as a dangerous impediment to the exploitation of the Parc National des Vol- cans, and especially to the exploitation of the goril las. ” — Farley Mowat, in his bi ography of Dian Fossey maintain students, to train Rwan dans in the patrol of the park and for additional census work on the Rwandan side of the Virungas so that stronger efforts may be made to protect them and to actively secure their survival,” Fossey wrote during 1978. “Here, at camp, we wake up each morning wondering who will be next,” she wrote. Fossey began regular patrols of Mount Visoke’s slopes to protect the endangered gorillas and she also was known to fire shots in order to frighten intruders. In at least one case, Fossey, who had emphysema, helped other work ers to chase and to capture a poacher thought to be involved in Digit’s death. Poachers initially were suspected of killing Fossey, but Rwanda gov ernment officials and others have ruled out that theory because of the way she was killed. Fossey was found dead on Dec. 28, 1985, on the floor of her Kari soke cabin, her skull split by a large knife that she owned. Beside her on the floor of the cabin were a pistol and also a clip of ammunition. The Rwandan government charged Wayne McGuire, a student researcher at Karisoke, with Fossey’s murder, but no credible motive ever was established. McGuire fled to the United States, which has no extradition agreement with Rwanda. A native tracker who had been fired months earlier by Fossey also was charged with the murder. He died in a Rwandan jail. Some observers think that Fos sey’s vigorous conservation efforts may have eventually led opposing parties who wanted to expand the economic development of Rwanda’s volcanic region to plot her death. Fossey was a staunch advocate of minimal human contact with the go rillas. This stand put her at odds with those people in the country who wanted to use the endangered goril las in order to lure tourists to the Vi runga Mountains. Fossey was concerned that the go rillas would contract human dis- easesj against which they have no im munity. Fossey eventually linked some of the gorilla deaths on Mount Visoke to their contact with humans. “I suspect he (the killer) was hired, or suborned, by influential people who increasingly viewed Dian as a dangerous impediment to the exploitation of the Parc National des Volcans, and especially to the ex ploitation of the gorillas,” Farley Mowat wrote in his biography of Fossey, “Woman in the Mists.” Hair today, gone tomorrow Photo by Mike C. Mulvey Doug Harris, a freshman member of Squadron 4, gets his ‘fish cut’ in the MSC Barber Shop dining the beginning of Freshman Orientation Week. Freshmen in the Corps learn to.be unified, and part of that lesson is having the same haircut — a ‘fish cut,’ which leaves hair one-quarter inch long. Special Discount Subscriptions Award Winning Coverage Best in Movie and Music Reviews The Houston Chronicle is the candidate most qualified to bring you the information you need. Keep in touch with events that relate to your classes and your life with in-depth coverage of the state, the nation and the world. Maximize your entertainment quotient with Chronicle reviews of all the latest movies, albums and concerts. And stay on top of all the stats and standings with our complete sports coverage. Get Your Special Discount Subscription Just $17.50 For Delivery from August 29 through December 13 Call 693-7815 Or 693-2323 Or Use This Coupon Today A full fall semester discount subscription for only $17.50, for Texas A&M students, faculty and staff. Newspapers will be delivered August 29 through December 13. Call 693-7815 or 693-2323 or send check or money order to: Houston Chronicle, 4201 College Main, Bryan, TX 77801. Name Address City ^ Phone State. Zip. The Chronicle