Gorillas in the Mist

Dian Fossey writes tirelessly to Louis Leakey, inspired by his work with primates. She travels to Louisville for a lecture in 1966 and convinces Leakey of her commitment to studying the rare mountain gorillas.

Leakey invites Fossey to join the Congo expedition with his foundation. They locate a troop of gorillas and meet local tracker Sembagare, setting up her initial fieldwork.

Deep in the jungle, Fossey and Sembagare locate the gorilla troop, but the Congo Crisis erupts, forcing them from their research site. Congolese soldiers accuse Fossey of being a foreign spy, ejecting them from the area.

Fossey contemplates returning to the United States, but Sembagare and Rosamond Carr urge her to stay and continue her work. Their encouragement rekindles her commitment to field research in Africa.

She relocates her research to the jungles of neighboring Rwanda and establishes Karisoke, where she begins monitoring gorilla groups. The new base becomes the center of her ongoing study.

Poaching becomes evident as Fossey discovers traps near her new base. She documents the threats to the gorillas and begins mounting anti-poaching efforts to protect the troops.

Her fieldwork earns praise from Leakey and brings international attention to gorilla research. The project gains funding and credibility through external support and media coverage.

National Geographic dispatches photographer Bob Campbell to document Fossey's gorilla research. Through gorilla photo sessions, she grows attached to him and they become lovers. Campbell asks for a divorce and proposes marriage, but his demand that Fossey spend time away from Karisoke drives them apart.

Fossey forms an emotional bond with Digit the gorilla and vigorously opposes the export of other gorillas by trader Van Vecten. Her relationship with Digit fuels her determination to protect the gorillas and resist exploitation.

Appalled by the ongoing poaching, Fossey confronts the Rwandan government and is dismissed, but a minister promises to hire an anti-poaching squad. Her bold stance alienates some officials and researchers.

Digit is beheaded by poachers, an event that shocks Fossey into intensified anti-poaching patrols. She leads patrols, burns poachers' villages, and even stages a mock execution of an offender, straining relationships with some assistants.

Sembagare expresses concern at Fossey's opposition to the emergent gorilla tourism industry. She nonchalantly dismisses his worries, focusing on the gorillas' welfare over commercial interests.

On Boxing Day, 1985, Fossey is murdered in the bedroom of her cabin by a machete-wielding assassin. The shocking crime remains officially unsolved, fueling debate and speculation about her work and its enemies.

A funeral is held with Sembagare, Carr, and others in attendance. Fossey is buried in the same cemetery where Digit and other gorillas had been laid to rest, signifying a final resting place shared with her subjects.

An epilogue explains that Fossey's actions helped save the gorillas from extinction and that her death remains a mystery. Her legacy continues to influence conservation and anti-poaching efforts worldwide.