Wildlife conservation is built on personal encounters with wild animals. Ian Redmond spent over 50 years protecting gorillas and elephants across Africa, beginning with a single letter to Dian Fossey that opened a door he never closed. This is the story of how curiosity, friendship, and grief transformed into a lifetime of work that saved a species from extinction.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses grief, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you’re not alone — help is available:
• Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au
In 1976, Ian Redmond wrote a letter to primatologist Dian Fossey asking to work at her research centre in Rwanda. He arrived at Karisoke with no credentials, just humility and a willingness to do whatever was needed. On his second day in the field, he met a mountain gorilla. That encounter set the course for the next five decades.
Ian witnessed both profound loss and remarkable triumph. He befriended individual gorillas, learned their personalities and social bonds, and grieved when poachers killed Digit, a gorilla he had come to know. He was there when Fossey was murdered. Yet he stayed, and the work endured. The mountain gorilla population rose from 250 to over 1,000.
Later, Ian discovered something extraordinary: elephants visiting caves on Mount Elgon, venturing underground to find mineral salts. He spent years building trust with wild elephants, learning that fear dissolves when animals encounter humans without threat.
🕒 CHAPTERS:
00:00 A Naturalist from Birth: Childhood in Yorkshire and Malaysia
07:07 Herding Reindeer in the Cairngorms
10:02 The Letter That Changed Everything: Writing to Dian Fossey
17:09 Arriving at Karisoke in ’76: Into the Virunga Mountains
24:30 First Days in the Field: Confronting Poachers
29:04 Meeting Group 4: Gorillas and Nose Prints
39:34 Understanding Gorilla Society and Safety
45:54 The Death of Digit and Diane Fossey’s Murder
51:36 David Attenborough and Life on Earth
57:51 Cave-Dwelling Elephants on Mount Elgon
1:04:04 Underground with Elephants: Trust and Conversation
1:12:32 The Three Ps: How Individuals Can Protect Wildlife
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📌 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International: https://www.gorillafund.org/
The Gorilla Doctors: https://www.gorilladoctors.org/
Born Free Foundation: https://www.bornfree.org.uk/
Stop Ecocide: https://www.stopecocide.earth/
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