Fossey, Dian (1938-1985)
US zoologist. Almost completely untrained, Fossey was sent by Louis Leakey into the African wild. From 1975, she studied mountain gorillas in Rwanda and discovered that they committed infanticide and that females were transferred to nearly established groups. Living in close proximity to them, she discovered that they led peaceful family lives. She was murdered by poachers whose snares she had cut.