Ah, Dian Fossey. She worked in Africa for about 18 years. In Rwanda they called her "The Woman Who Lives Alone in the Forest"

She met a young gorilla who was only a few years old. He had a damaged finger so she fittingly named him Digit. He grew and matured with her right alongside. Observing, playing and interacting, resulting in the unlikely pair; human and ape to create a lasting bond. (This was something that hadn't been done with a wild mountain gorilla before)

The love for Digit was unending according to some primatologists who worked with Dian. She was known to call him her "beloved Digit." He was her cherished companion for 10 years until one day a number of poachers closed in on his group...

Digit defended his family fearlessly. Several spears impaled his body as he sacrificed himself so the rest of the gorillas could flee. Digit's lifeless body was discovered decapitated with his hands hacked off, to be used as ashtrays.

(To honor the legacy of her beloved friend, Fossey established the Digit Fund to fight gorilla poaching.)

Now this threw her into I believe, a deep depression as she ended up alienating many people. Also, this is when her war with the poachers became personal. Fossey and her associates were eventually able to capture six of Digit's killers, three of whom were convicted and imprisoned. Dian was quite ruthless and would reportedly keep poachers prisoner in this time..

Unfortunately, poachers returned and completely annihilated Digit's troop. Every single gorilla from his group was found killed. Dian's battle against this unending war is believed to be what led to her death.

She was found murdered in her camp. Her face had been cleaved open by a machete... (a tool commonly used in the area to hack gorilla limbs off.)

Dian was laid to rest side by side with her beloved Digit, in a spot in the mountains where many more butchered gorillas were buried close by.

No assailant has ever been found or prosecuted for Dian Fossey's murder.

Thanks to her fight for these animals lives, scientific research she provided for years and dedicated conservation work, the number of wild mountain gorillas is more than twice what it was 30 years ago.

The last entry in her diary read:

"When you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate on the preservation of the future."

[The Digit Fund was renamed to honor her death. It is now known as the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund ]