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The Fossey Fund operates on two parallel tracks that reinforce each other. Daily tracking and monitoring keep gorilla families under close observation providing the protection of presence while generating
the behavioral data that drives the fund’s research program. Alongside this, a major investment in African scientific education ensures that the knowledge and capacity to protect gorillas grows within the communities and countries where gorillas live, rather than depending indefinitely on outside expertise. Together, these two tracks represent a model of conservation that is both immediate and generational in its ambition.
What the Fund Supports
Tracker teams enter the forests every day, locating gorilla families, monitoring their health and behavior, and maintaining the kind of consistent human presence that deters poaching and allows rapid response to threats. The education program funds university students from Rwanda and the Congo through their studies, providing not just tuition support but mentorship, field experience, and post-graduate internships that turn graduates into conservation professionals.
The Next Generation of African Conservation Scientists
One of the Fossey Fund’s most forward-looking contributions is its investment in African scientific talent. More than 400 students from Rwandan and Congolese universities have been supported through the fund’s education programs. Post-graduate internship opportunities extend that training further, giving graduates practical experience alongside seasoned researchers.
How Your Deeper Africa Safari Contributes
Deeper Africa’s Primates of Rwanda and Primates & Savanna safaris include visits to Fossey Fund projects, connecting travelers directly with the tracking teams and researchers whose daily work keeps mountain gorillas safe. Every gorilla trek taken through a Deeper Africa safari contributes to the conservation economy that sustains the fund’s operations, and every traveler who leaves Rwanda having looked a mountain gorilla in the eye carries something home that no amount of reading could provide. Supporting the Fossey Fund through your safari is one of the most direct connections you can make between your travel and the survival of a species.
