The Gorillas in the Mist
Stories of great apes in Africa's volcanic mountains were confirmed in 1902, and the mountain gorilla became the world's most famous ape.
What was reported
People living around the Virunga Mountains, on the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, knew of great apes high in the misty forests. In 1902 a German officer, Robert von Beringe, collected two on Mount Sabyinyo, and one was described in Berlin as a new kind of gorilla.
From 1967 the American researcher Dian Fossey studied them in Rwanda, and her book Gorillas in the Mist (1983) made them famous.
Explanations offered
The mountain gorilla is larger and shaggier than lowland gorillas, suited to cold, high forests. Once thought doomed, its numbers have risen to over 1,000 thanks to protection and carefully managed tourism. It's an example of an animal known locally long before science 'discovered' it.
- When
- Described in 1902
- Where
- Virunga Mountains, Rwanda
- Witnesses
- Local people, a German officer, and later Dian Fossey
- Status
- Confirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.