There's a myth that gorillas are ferocious. It all began with the movie King Kong, where they got all kinds of things wrong. First, they're sailing off to Borneo. Second, gorillas don't live in Borneo. Orangutans do. Dian Fossey and I had a good laugh about this together.

To talk about Dian Fossey, we must talk about Louis Leakey's Trimates, Leakey's Angels, or Leakey's Primates. Louis Leakey chose Dian Fossey, Jane Goodall, and Birute Galdikas to study the great apes in their natural habitats.

Every year the first week of September, Rwanda celebrates Kwita Izina, the baby gorilla naming ceremony. David and I attended with Kwita Izina in 2017, where more than 20,000 people attended worldwide.

Dian’s burial happened so quickly we weren’t able to attend. But we promised ourselves we’d come back and look at the beautiful hagenia trees and this wonderful meadow she loved, and we loved.

The silverback is the center of attention. He makes all the decisions, determines group movements, mediates conflicts, and locates food. Grooming strengthens the bonds within the group.

My husband David and I first visited the mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park in 1985 as volunteers for Dian Fossey. Our experience back then compared to our return visit to see the gorillas again in 2017 was vastly different. Whereas the first go-round, I was terrified I’d break one of Dian’s gorilla etiquette rules (which I did and always with consequences). This time, it was like dinner with old friends.