Background
Dian Fossey was an American primatologist who spent years studying mountain gorillas in Rwanda's Virunga Mountains. In 1967 she founded the Karisoke Research Center and brought the gorillas' behaviour, family structure and conservation to international attention. Her 1983 book "Gorillas in the Mist" and the 1988 film based on it introduced her work to a wide audience.
The 1977 killing of Digit, a gorilla she was devoted to, at the hands of poachers affected her deeply and hardened her approach to anti-poaching work. She founded the Digit Fund after his death.
Karisoke began as a camp among the Virunga volcanoes at roughly three thousand metres. There Fossey observed gorilla family groups individually, gave them names and recorded behaviour that had been largely unknown.
What happened
Fossey was killed on 26 December 1985 in her cabin at Karisoke, and her body was found early the next morning in her bedroom. The room was in disarray, but her passport, firearms and cash were still there, so robbery was widely seen as an unlikely motive. A single blow was reported as the cause of death. She was buried on 31 December 1985 in the gorilla graveyard she had created, next to Digit.
After the killing the Rwandan authorities detained her whole staff, most of whom were released. One of them, tracker Emmanuel Rwelekana, whom she had previously dismissed, was later found dead in custody.
Investigation and trial
A Rwandan court convicted her American research assistant, Wayne McGuire, in absentia; the prosecution alleged he wanted to take the manuscript of her planned book. McGuire had returned to the United States, and because the two countries had no extradition treaty, the sentence was never carried out. He consistently denied the charges and called them outrageous.
Other possibilities were raised, including a local official, poachers seeking revenge and gold smugglers, but none was ever proven. There is no consensus on who killed her.
Legacy
Fossey's death has been debated for nearly forty years. Karisoke continues to operate, and her legacy lives on in efforts to protect mountain gorillas. Her grave remains near the research station, beside Digit and other gorillas.
The number of mountain gorillas in Rwanda has slowly increased over the years through conservation work, and the monitoring she began is seen as one of the foundations of that success.