Dian Fossey

For decades, the National Geographic Society has presented specials on nature, foreign culture, scientific breakthroughs, and things which fall under the general category of "neat stuff." Each special is self-contained.

We have been colonised by the machines we have built. Although we don't realise it, the way we see everything in the world today is through the eyes of the computers.

Dian Fossey's life story from childhood and her early days researching in Congo, through to her arrival in Rwanda, where she spent 18 years studying and protecting the mountain gorilla population. Through extensive and rarely seen archival footage, dozens of Fossey’s letters, interviews with friends and colleagues, and narration by Sigourney Weaver, the event series explores Fossey’s murder and the investigation and trial of her research student Wayne McGuire, who was found guilty in absentia of her murder by the Rwandan courts.

She was the first to study gorillas in their natural environment: the high mountains of Rwanda, where she settled in 1967. For nearly twenty years, Dian Fossey lived with the gorillas, observed their behavior, and changed the way people viewed them. Her relentless fight against poaching prevented the species from becoming extinct. But in December 1985, the primatologist was murdered, and the mystery surrounding her death remains unsolved. Former colleagues, scientists, and biographers shed light on the impact of her work, but also on the darker sides of her personality and her uncompromising commitment.

To explore the mysteries of man's closest relatives, three women set out years ago, Dian Fossey to find gorillas in Rwanda, Jane Goodall to find chimpanzees in Tanzania and Biruté Galdikas to find orangutans in Borneo. They changed the way we see the world and together inspired generations... More than 50 years ago, Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas ventured on a solitary expedition far into the bush. Cut off from the outside world, they lived in the company of our closest ancestors, the hominids. Over the next few decades, they made history, experienced personal tragedies and inspired a new generation of young women who followed in their footsteps into the depths of the rainforest to explore the origins of man and save a vanishing world. Trimmings is a natural history adventure film for the whole family.

Celebrates 30 years of televised specials by The National Geographic Society.

Follow comedian Ellen DeGeneres as she fulfills her dream of protecting Fossey’s legacy by building the The Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in Rwanda.

From 1968 to 1972, photographer and filmmaker Bob Campbell documented the activities of Dian Fossey as she developed a cross-species bond with Rwandan mountain gorillas. Campbell shot 70,000 feet of film, but only a fraction of his material was edited into the lecture presentation that preceded Fossey's Gorillas in the Mist. This program compiles highlights from the previously unreleased footage, offering an unforgettable glimpse into the gorilla community and Fossey's relationship with it. Her methods may not entirely jibe with those of modern conservationists, but there is no denying the profound impact of her work on current research and eco-activism.

Dian Fossey began her trip to Africa in 1963 where she initially was a safari tourist. Eventually her exploration of the wilderness and its wild animals, led to her curiosity of the Mountain Gorillas, one of the most endangered species on Earth, this passion eventually had her study the animals for over 19 years where she developed a long lasting relationship with them.