She started her research in the area in 1967 and lived there for some 18 years, earning the trust and affection of the gorillas. When one of her favorites, Digit, was killed by poachers some years later she started the Digit Fund and campaigned against poaching and for the preservation of the Gorillas.
On December 26, 1985, Dian Fossey was found murdered in her cabin. Her death remains unsolved. The last entry in her diary reads: "When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate on the preservation of the future."
Her book "Gorillas in the Mist" (Fossey, D. 1983 Gorillas in the Mist. Boston: Houghton Mifflin) was published in 1983 made into a major motion picture in 1986, starring Sigourney Weaver.
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International is the renamed "Digit Fund" and carries on her work.
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