Credit: Carolyn Bailey. arzone.ning.com

Living up in the mountains with the gorillas for years, Fossey managed to dispelled myths about the violence mountain gorillas were known to have. Pictures and videos of her have shown that she managed to sit near them without getting hurt by them. Instead, the gorillas were more curious of her existence and her belongings than having any intentions of hurting her. This may be explained by the discovery of her mimicking the actions and behaviours of the gorillas to create the impression that she was one of them.

As she was able to be around the gorillas, she managed to conduct her observations as close a proximity as she could get. Thus, that resulted in many ground-breaking discoveries of the gorillas. These includes the discoveries of vocalistics and behavior patterns within the gorilla’s own family, their diet, how they recycle nutrients and the hierarchies and social relationships among groups.

Her researchers were mainly funded by the Wilkie Foundation and the Leakey Home, with primary funding from the National Geographic Society.