In the Kingdom of Gorillas

Bill Weber & Amy Vedder
Arum Press, London, 2001
Hardcover, 384 pages, ISBN 1-85410-839-5

In 1978, two young Americans - Bill Weber and Amy Vedder - arrived in Rwanda to study Mountain Gorillas with Dian Fossey who had become a household name due to her National Geographic articles and films. Weber and Vedder could never have imagined how their lives were to be shaped by the personalities and politics of the region, and by the extraordinary great apes in whose survival they would become so immersed.

The story of the passionate and temperamental Fossey (who was murdered in mysterious circumstances in 1985), and the perilous existence of the gorillas, has been told and recounted in several books, films and magazine articles. So too has the catastrophic Rwandan civil war which led to one of the most horrific episodes of genocide in human history.

Here though, is a convincing and intimate perspective which takes the whole gorilla conservation story beyond Dian Fossey and beyond the civil war. The idea of controlled tourism to habituated gorilla families was proposed by Weber and Vedder, although vigorously opposed by Fossey. As it has turned out, the appeal of gorillas to tourists has safeguarded their Virunga mountain habitat in the face of incredible human population growth and turmoil. Simply put, Mountain Gorillas are Rwanda's biggest source of foreign revenue. There is no doubt that Dian Fossey was responsible for putting the plight of gorillas into the hearts and minds of many westerners, and it was her visible dedication which attracted a succession of disciples (including the authors of this book). Having devoted over twenty years of their lives to Mountain Gorillas and championing the cause of conservation in Rwanda, Weber and Vedder are somewhat unsung heroes. This book corrects that although I have to admit that the numerous self-congratulatory remarks in the text were a little jarring (albeit justified in the light of their achievements).

The entire story is captivating from start to finish and is often highly dramatic. Hard to put down, this book is essential reading for anyone fascinated by Mountain Gorillas and conservation in Africa. In stark contrast to the USA's current belligerent approach to world opinion, these two American conservationists provide one of the most insightful and balanced perspectives on conservation and politics in Africa which I have yet to read.

- Duncan Butchart -

Posted: Birds by CC Africa, Date: 22 November 2006