Gorillas in the Mist A Kentucky woman, Dian Fossey is inspired by anthropologist Louis Leakey to devote her life to the study of primates. Travelling into deepest Africa, Fossey becomes fascinated with the lives and habits of the rare mountain gorillas of the Rwandan jungle. Studying them at close quarters, Fossey develops a means of communicating with the gorillas, and in doing so becomes obsessed with the apes' well-being. She becomes so preoccupied with her vocation that she loses the opportunity of a romance with the National Geographic photographer Bob Campbell. Appalled by the poaching of the gorillas for their skins, hands, and heads, Fossey complains to the Rwandan government, which dismisses her, claiming that poaching is the only means by which some of the Rwandan natives can themselves survive. She rejects this, and dedicates herself to saving the African Mountain gorilla from illegal poaching and likely extinction. To this end she forms and leads numerous anti-poaching patrols, and even burns down the poachers' villages and stages a mock execution of one of the offenders. Fossey is mysteriously murdered on December 26, 1985, in the bedroom of her cabin. *synopsis by www.imdb.com
Post-viewing activities
How your class can adopt a gorilla You and your class can make a real difference in the world with a symbolic adoption of a gorilla. After watching the film, if your students want to make a difference, then you can discuss whether you would like to adopt a gorilla. For only $25, you can make a very special difference to the lives of gorillas in the wild and help these beautiful animals stay alive, looked after and safe from poaching! You receive an adoption certificate and letter which you can display on your classroom wall, a photo of the animal you have symbolically adopted (which your class can name!), a cute gorilla teddy bear and a WWF school bag. Turn your English class into a full conservation experience your students will never forget! Check out the link below for full details: http://www.worldwildlife.org/ogc/species_sku.cfm?gid=12
Gorillas and how they live A typical gorilla family includes one silverback, the strongest male and the undisputed leader, one immature male between 8 and 13 years old, three or four adult females, who ordinarily stay with the silverback for life, and three to six youngsters under eight years old. Some groups are larger or smaller than this, and males sometimes travel alone or form bachelor groups. Gorillas sleep about 13 hours each night and rest for several hours at midday. They build new sleeping nests every night by bending nearby plants into a springy platform, usually on the ground or in low trees. When not resting, they spend most of their time looking for food and eating it. They eat mostly plant foods: leaves, shoots, fruit, bulbs, bark, vines and nettles. They also eat ants, termites, grubs, worms and insect larvae. There are three types of gorillas: Western Lowland, Eastern Lowland and Mountain. The names refer to the different areas of Africa where they live. Mountain gorillas are the most critically endangered, with only 620 alive in 1991. Gorillas are shy and peaceful. The only natural enemy of gorillas has always been human beings. Gorillas are still hunted for meat and trophies in some parts of Africa, and they are caught in traps set for other animals. In the past, whenever an infant gorilla was captured for a zoo, the mother and often the other members of the family were killed as they defended the baby. Now the most serious threat to free-living gorillas is the human population explosion. As more and more people take over the land for agriculture, logging and other development, gorillas have nowhere left to go.
Reading Comprehension Questions Work in pairs and read the Gorillas and how they live text and answer the following questions. Your teacher will tell you the answers after see how many you can get right! What does a typical gorilla family include? What is a silverback gorilla? What is a sleeping nest? How do they spend most of their time when awake? Other than plants, which foods do gorillas also eat? Name the three different types of gorilla. Which gorillas are under most threat? How would you describe a gorilla? Why are gorillas hunted? What sometimes happens when baby gorillas are taken? What is the most serious threat to wild gorillas today? Name three reasons why man is taking the gorillas land. Ok, now your teacher will tell you the answers. How many did you get right?? Well done!
Teacher s Answers What does a typical gorilla family include? One silverback, one immature male, three or four adult females and three to six youngsters. What is a silverback gorilla? The strongest male and the undisputed leader What is a sleeping nest? A springy platform for sleeping How do they spend most of their time when awake? Looking for food and eating it. Other than plants, which foods do gorillas also eat? Ants, termites, grubs, worms and insect larvae. Name the three different types of gorilla. Western Lowland, Eastern Lowland and Mountain. Which gorillas are under most threat? Mountain gorillas. How would you describe a gorilla? Shy and peaceful. Why are gorillas hunted? For meat and trophies. What sometimes happens when baby gorillas are taken? Their family members are killed trying to protect it. What is the most serious threat to wild gorillas today? Human population explosion. Name three reasons why man is taking the gorillas land. Agriculture, logging and other development.
Gorilla Webquest Gorilla Webquest! The internet can be a great source of information and learning for ESL students. After watching the film and doing the classroom activities, why not get your students to have a try of the Gorilla Webquest! The Gorilla Webquest was designed for native speaking children aged 8-10 years old, which means that the language is challenging (but not too difficult!) for your English students. It looks at how gorillas live in the wild, how they eat and socialize and the dangers they face from humans. There is a fun trivia quiz which students must find answers for, or alternatively, they can make their own quiz questions for classmates. You can set the Gorilla Webquest for a quality homework assignment or in do it in the school if you have computers there. Good luck Web-questers!! Gorilla Webquest link: http://teacher.scholastic.com/webquest/science/scgrla.htm
Class discussion questions How did the film make you feel? Have you thought about poaching before today? Do you feel differently about gorillas now? Do you think the film industry portrays gorillas unfairly? e.g. King Kong Is there anything you can do to help gorillas in the wild? (WWF adoption project!) Should your government do anything about illegal poaching? Is poaching of other animals a problem in your country? If you were in a market, would you buy an animal trophy? The animal is dead anyway, right? Should all forms of hunting be banned? For example, fox hunting, whale hunting, elephant hunting and animal fur hunting? Do you think poaching will ever be stopped? Should we consider the lives of hunters and their families who rely on hunting to feed themselves? Do you know anyone who has ever bought animal trophies or fur? Should gorillas be sold to zoos?
Gorillas in the Mist Debate! Divide your class into two groups. One group want to ban the poaching of gorillas. The other group are the government of an African country who want poaching to continue! Give each group prompt cards below and give them 10-15mins to prepare their arguments. You should act as mediator and with language only. Your group supports the total ban on the poaching and killing of wild gorillas in the African country. You feel that gorillas must be protected because they may go extinct if they do not get this help. The hunting of gorillas is cruel and has no place in today s world. You are also against the gorillas land being taken for farming and logging. Your group supports the poaching and killing of gorillas in Africa. Gorilla poaching is over 3,000 years old, so why are the gorillas not extinct already?? Poor, local families need this trade to survive. Without it, their children will starve and not be able to go to school. The country also needs the food from farming and the wood from logging. People are more important than gorillas.
Parts of the film to show your students Clip One (3:40mins to 7:27mins) - Dian Fossey watches a lecture Prof. Leakey and afterwards asks him for a job in Africa counting the local gorilla population. Clip Two (13:37mins to 16:54mins) She has arrived in Africa and is heading up into the mountains to set up base camp. Clip Three (21:40mins to 28:52mins) She makes first contact with the gorillas and is chased by the silverback male. Later she is kicked out of the country by aggressive government soldiers. Clip Four (34:07mins to 39:18mins) After nearly giving up, she has decided to keep fighting. She makes great breakthroughs with the gorillas. Clip Five (42:48mins to 44:58mins) - She goes into market and is offered the hand of a gorilla as a souvenir. Later she comes across animal traps. Clip Six (52:25mins to 53:28mins) - More animal/gorilla traps. Clip Seven (56:00mins to 1:01:12mins) A moving moment in the film when she is tenderly touched by the group. She has been accepted. Clip Eight (1:08:14mins to 1:13:19mins) Poachers attack the gorilla group to steal a baby gorilla. Four adult gorillas are killed protecting the baby. Dian Fossey goes into town to recover the infant gorilla and learns of the government deals with brokers who sell infant gorillas to zoos. She is horrified. Clip Nine (1:25:07mins to 1:25:53mins) A short, heart-breaking clip, where the infant is packed into a box to be taken to a zoo. Clip Ten (1:37:52mins to 1:42:15mins) The group is attacked again. Digit, the gorilla leader is beheaded and his hands cut off. Clip Eleven (1:55:37mins to 2:00:43mins) Dian Fossey is murdered.