The
Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (originally the
Digit Fund) is a charity for the protection of endangered
mountain gorillas. The Digit Fund was created by
Dr. Dian Fossey in 1978 for the sole purpose of financing her anti-poaching patrols and preventing further
poaching of the mountain gorillas. Fossey studied at her
Karisoke Research Center in the
Virunga Volcanoes of
Rwanda. The non-profit fund was named in memory of Fossey's favourite
gorilla, Digit, who was decapitated by poachers for the offer of
US$20 by a
Hutu merchant who specialized in selling gorilla heads as trophies and gorilla hands as
ashtrays to tourists.