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Lindsey Graham
There are more ways than ever to listen to History Daily ad free.
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Narrator
Listen with Wondry plus in the Wondery.
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Lindsey Graham
App as a member of Noiser plus at noiser.com or in Apple Podcasts. Or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts@intohristory.com It's December 31, 1977, in the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda. A poacher pushes through the thick undergrowth, hacking at leaves and branches with his machete. He's not worried about making noise. The animals he's after won't be able to run away, even if they hear him coming. A few days ago, the poacher passed this way and laid traps in the hope of catching some antelopes. But he's surprised at how quickly the undergrowth has covered his tracks since he was last here. The poacher chops at a branch that's fallen across the path, blocking his way, and pushes it to the side. Then he freezes. Squatting on the path just a few yards ahead is a large gorilla. The gorilla rises off its haunches. It doesn't move or run away. Instead, it looks the poacher right in the eye. With a questioning, intelligent gaze, the poacher eases a gun from his shoulder, moving slowly. He came here today for antelopes, but a gorilla would be a much more valuable prize. As if sensing the danger, the gorilla begins to roar. At the edge of his eye line, the poacher sees the undergrowth shaking. Other gorillas in a hidden group must be running away, but that doesn't matter. The poacher only needs this one animal. The money he'll get from it will feed his family for weeks. He looks down the barrel and pulls the trigger. The gorilla falls backward, stunned, and before it has a chance to rise up again, the poacher runs forward, his machete gleaming. The following day, the gorilla's body will be discovered by scientists studying the group this mountain gorilla belonged to. And since the corpse is missing its head and hands, it's clear that poachers were responsible. But the killing of Digit, as the dead gorilla was known, will spur American conservationist Diane Fossey to redouble her efforts to protect the species from poachers. But her increasingly extreme campaign will end eight years later when Diane herself suffers a violent death on December 26, 1985.
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Narrator
History Daily is sponsored by Audible, whose best of 2024 picks are here. Discover the year's top audiobooks and originals in all your favorite genres, from memoirs and sci fi to mysteries and thrillers. Audible's Cur Underrated list in every category is the best way to hear 2024's best in audio entertainment, like a stunning new full cast production of George Orwell's 1984 heartfelt memoirs like Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's lovely one, the year's best fiction, like the Women by Kristin Hannah and Percival Everett's brilliantly subversive title James, or a personal pick of Malcolm Gladwell's latest audiobook, Revenge of the Tipping Point. Find a new favorite and get listening with Audible because there's more to imagine when you listen. Go to audible.com historydaily and discover all the year's best waiting for you.
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Lindsey Graham
Hey prime members, have you heard? You can listen to your favorite podcasts ad free.
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That's good news.
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Lindsey Graham
With Amazon Music, you have access to the largest catalog of ad free top podcasts included with your prime membership. To start listening, download the Amazon Music app for free or go to Amazon.com ADFreePodcasts that's Amazon.com ADFreeP Podcasts to catch up on the latest episodes without the ads from Noiser and Airship I'm Lindsey Graham and this is History. Daily history is made every day on this podcast. Every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is December 26, 1985. The murder of Diane Fossey It's September 1963. The Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. 14 years before the killing of Digit the gorilla. 30 year old Diane Falsey hikes through the dusty scrubland, following the footsteps of her guide. The scenery around her is breathtaking. A stony outcrop in the distance catches the sun and glows a remarkable shade of red. Diane can't take her eyes off of it, but she should, because while she's distracted, she catches her foot on a loose rock and tumbles heavily down a steep slope. She winces as the guide helps her back to her feet, sharp pain shooting through her ankle. Diane has always had a passion for wildlife and the outdoors. Born into an affluent family in San Francisco, she was a keen horse rider as a child and wanted to become a veterinarian. She didn't have the grades though, and ended up working as an occupational therapist at a children's hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. Still, Diane retained her passion for the animal world and after several years of working, she'd saved enough money to treat herself to the vacation of a lifetime, a seven week trip to Africa. Now that she's here, she's seen lions, elephants, zebras, and cheetahs. On her adventure so far. And recently she made her way up to Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. There she struck up a friendship with the British archaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey. Their excavations in the gorge are revealing new information about the earliest days of humankind. But Diane will be of no use to them with what she fears is now a broken ankle. With the help of her guide, Diane hobbles back to the lodge she's been staying in. The painful injury forces her to stay longer at Olduvai Gorge than she originally intended to. But that gives her the opportunity to spend more time with Lewis and Mary. Diane discovers that Lewis isn't just interested in digging up the past. He also studies African apes in their natural habitat. According to Lewis, the modern day behavior of primates may shed light on how humans evolved millions of years ago. During their evening conversations underneath Tanzania's clear and starry sky, Diane becomes fascinated in Lewis and Mary's work. And when her ankle recovers, she resumes her itinerary through Africa. But she doesn't forget what she learned in Olduvai Gorge. At her next stop in Uganda, Diane conducts a brief study of the region's mountain gorillas. She makes copious notes about their behavior, and when she returns to America, she writes them up in three articles for her local newspaper in Louisville. For a time, that seems to be the end of her adventures abroad. And Diane resumes her career at the Children's hospital. But then, three years later, she hears that Dr. Louis Leakey is embarking on an American lecture tour and one of his talks will be in Louisville. Diane books a ticket and she waits in line after the show to reintroduce herself to the famous archaeologist. She shows him her notebook of observations about the mountain gorillas she saw in Uganda, and Lewis is impressed. Before the evening's over, he suggests that she change her career and become a researcher in Africa. Without any hesitation, Diane agrees. Lewis's endorsement helps Diane secure funding for a long term study of Africa's mountain gorillas. And almost a year later, in early 1967, she arrives in the remote Virunga Mountains of the Congo in central Africa to begin her work. And just 10 minutes into her first trek into the deep jungle, she encounters a gorilla. The startled animal melts into the bush and disappears from sight. But over the months that follow, Diane gradually earns the gorilla's trust. She discovers that they are more likely to accept her presence if she copies their actions. And she even takes to walking on her knuckles when she comes close. To a group. Diane recognizes individuals by their nose markings and takes detailed notes of each group's behavior. But the Congo is not a stable place to carry out long term research. The country gained independence from Belgium just seven years ago and has been plagued by unrest and civil war ever since. Even in her remote camp, Diane isn't safe from the chaos. Six months after arriving in the Congo, Diane is arrested by soldiers who are suspicious of her motives for being in the country. After two weeks in prison, Diane bribes her way out and sneaks across the border to neighboring Uganda. Soon after, Louis Leakey will advise Diane to avoid the Congo in the future, but Diane will be determined not to give up on her research. So she'll start again on the other side of the Virunga Mountains in Rwanda. But there, too, she'll soon discover that her new base is just as dangerous as her old one.
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Narrator
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What if you could learn from the world's best all in one place? You can with Masterclass. With Masterclass you can learn from the best to become your best. Masterclass is the only streaming platform where you can learn and grow with over 200 plus of the world's best. And you can access Masterclass on your phone, computer smart TV or even in audio mode. Confidently navigate the media with influential intellectual Noam Chomsky. Use science to solve your problems with Bill Nye or learn from the past with Pulitzer Prize winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. And the classes really do make a difference. 88% of members feel that Masterclass has made a positive impact on their lives. Plus, every new membership comes with a 30 day money back guarantee. Don't wait another moment to start your learning journey with Masterclass. Masterclass always has great offers during the holidays, sometimes up to as much as 50% off. Head over to masterclass.com wondery for the current offer that's up to 50% off at masterclass.com wondery It's September 1967 in.
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Lindsey Graham
The Virunga Mountains of Rwanda, three months after Dian Fossey escaped from the Congo. As the light fades, 35 year old Diane unloads her bag from the back of her trusty battered Land Rover with the help of two Rwandan assistants. She then begins erecting a tent and by nightfall the shelter is finished. Diane intends to build a permanent cabin here in the rainforest eventually, but this tent will have to do for now. Since arriving in Rwanda a few days ago, Diane has scoured the Virunga Mountains for a suitable location for her new research base. After being forced out of the Congo, Diane wanted somewhere isolated where she didn't draw attention from the locals. Earlier today, she spotted this clearing in the forest and decided it suited her needs. It's 10,000ft above sea level, well away from the nearest village and within trekking distance of several known mountain gorilla families. But Diane soon discovers that her remote location brings challenges. The mountain gorillas in this part of the Virunga Mountains are less habituated to human contact. It takes Diane far longer to get close enough to observe their natural behavior. But Dianne uses the tricks of the trade she learned earlier and stands back at a distance until the gorillas are used to her presence. Then, when they allow her closer, she gently mirrors their movement and even tries copying their calls and vocalizations. Eventually, they seem to accept her. Diane now has a unique opportunity to study the day to day aspects of mountain gorilla life that have been a mystery to humans until now. She studies the creatures, hierarchies and social relationships. She observes how female gorillas transfer from group to group to ensure the gene pool remains healthy, but that male gorillas never intrude on a rival group. And it's not just the gorillas interaction with each other that Diane studies. She also documents the impact of human Poaching. Although few Rwandans live in this part of the mountains, criminal gangs do journey here to target the wildlife. Sometimes they shoot the gorillas for food. Other times they set traps for antelope. But gorillas stumble into them instead. Some gangs even steal infant gorillas from their families in hopes of selling them to zoos around the world. Diane complains to the Rwandan government about these poachers, but she gets little support. There are government employed rangers who are supposed to protect the gorillas, but they're paid so poorly that they're easily bribed. And poachers effectively have free reign in the mountains. And after several years of seeing these poachers inflict horrible harm, the death of one gorilla hits Diane especially hard. On New Year's Day 1978, one of her researchers discovers the headless and handless body of a gorilla Diane called Digit. Diane had followed Digit for seven years, and his death marks the first time that a gorilla from one of Diane's observation groups has been killed by poachers. Diane is grief stricken and angry. She decides that the best way to save the mountain gorillas is to fight back. So she makes Digit the face of an international fundraising campaign and sets about writing a book to raise awareness of the mountain gorilla's plight. When it's finished and released in 1983, Gorillas in the Mist becomes a bestseller. The book royalties, along with other donations, pay for independent anti poaching patrols in the mountains. And in one four month period, Diane's patrols remove over 900 poaching traps while the government's rangers don't report a single one. But Diane's patrols cannot stop every poaching expedition. And one raid to steal two infant gorillas ends in a massacre of 20 adult gorillas. Those infants are seized at the border and taken into safekeeping. But the Rwandan government doesn't return the infants to the wild. Instead, the government sells them to foreign zoos, only further confirming to the poachers that their business model is a lucrative one. Increasingly frustrated by the government's reluctance to tackle the problem, Diane decides to take more radical action. Her anti poaching patrol starts shooting livestock belonging to villages that Diane believes are encroaching on the mountains. She tries to intimidate the locals by claiming she knows black magic. She has her men burn huts she believes are used by poachers. And when they manage to capture illegal hunters, Diane's even accused of beating and torturing them before handing them over to the authorities. Dian Fauci's increasingly violent confrontations with the poachers mean that the Virunga Mountains will soon become a lawless frontier. But in the fight between the guerrillas, hunters and their protectors, soon Diane herself will also become a target.
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Narrator
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Lindsey Graham
Credit karma is your evolved financial assistant, making managing your finances simpler and more tailored to you. Join us@creditkarma.com to start your personalized financial journey today and continue to grow with our innovations. Credit Karma Evolve your finances it's the evening of December 26, 1985 at Dian Fossey's cabin in the Virunga mountains of Rwanda, 18 years after she began the study of the country's mountain gorillas. Now 53 years old, Diane is at her desk in a cluttered and ramshackle two room hut. The weak light of her kerosene lamp isn't much to work by, but it's all she has. Diane downs her drink, something strong and foul tasting, though she's used to it by now. Then she gets to her feet, a little unsteady, and is searching for the bottle on the shelf when she hears a sudden tearing crash coming from her bedroom. She lurches through the dark cabin and swiftly opens the bedroom door. There she's confronted by a man with a machete climbing through a hole he's wrenched open in the corrugated metal walls of the hut. Diane hurls herself at the bedside table, grabbing for the handgun that she always keeps close by while she sleeps. As she scrambles clumsily to pull the gun and its ammunition from the drawer, the man with the machete pulls himself into the room. Diane whirls around, but she doesn't get the chance to even load her gun. The man's machete glints in the moonlight as it swiftly scythes through the darkness. Diane's bloody body is discovered by her house servant the next morning. During the investigation that follows, no poachers are questioned in connection with Diane's murder. Instead, the police concentrate on her research team and one suspect in particular, Diane's American grand grad student assistant, Wayne McGuire. And Wayne is about to be arrested when he is tipped off by the American Embassy and he flees before he can be taken into custody. That doesn't stop a Rwandan court putting him on trial in absentia. And despite a lack of compelling evidence, Wayne is convicted of Diane's murder, with the court claiming that he killed Diane to steal valuable research material from her. Wayne will always proclaim his innocence and American authorities will refuse to extradite him. And with a death sentence hanging over him, Wayne will never return to Rwanda. In contrast, Diane will never leave. Her body will be buried in a graveyard close to her camp, alongside several of the guerrillas that died during the years she studied them. Although Diane's life ended abruptly, her legacy will live on. Her campaign against illegal hunting in the mountains of Africa will receive a boost in 1988 when Diane's memoir Gorillas in the Mist is made into an award winning Hollywood movie. And a new generation of researchers inspired by Diane will take up the challenge of continuing her work. They will ensure that the still endangered mountain gorillas she loves so much are not forgotten, and that Diane herself is remembered for far more than her violent and premature death on December 26, 19, 1985. Next on History Daily December 27, 1904, the Duke of York's Theatre in London, England hosts the first performance of Peter Pan from Noiser and Airship. This is History Daily hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham Audio editing by Mohammed Shazid Sound design by Gabriel Gould Music by Thrum this episode is written and researched by Scott Reeves Edited by Dorian Marina Managing Producer Emily Burke Executive producers are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.
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Narrator
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