Mountain gorillas half a century after Dian Fossey
It is now 50 years since Dian Fossey began studying mountain gorillas in the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda. She made this species of primate known to all humanity, and saved them from a seemingly inevitable extinction. Today, the Dian Fossey Foundation and the Rwandan government continue to make enormous efforts to continue protecting these great apes and their natural habitat.
Now, half a century later, Jordi Galbany shows us the work done by the Foundation, as well as the biology, behaviour and life history of mountain gorillas. He also emphasis the research projects carried out in this unique population, which allow a better knowledge of the species. Among them, the study of the growth of these gorillas, which help to understand what factors limit their development.
Jordi Galbany Casals holds a degree in Biology and a Doctorate in Physical Anthropology from the University of Barcelona. Currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology at George Washington University. His main line of research focuses on the growth and development of mountain gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, in collaboration with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International. Another line of research analyzes the dental ecology of primates, especially baboons and mandrels, in collaboration with Duke University (USA) and Amboseli Baboon Research Project, and CNRS (France) and Mandrillus Project, respectively. He is also a scientific collaborator in the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences at the University of Barcelona.
