The 菊花视频 mourns the loss of Dr. Ymke Warren, 40, a native of London and WCS conservationist who worked to protect the world鈥檚 rarest great ape鈥攖he Cross River gorilla鈥攊n the forests of Cameroon. Quiet and even-handed, Warren excelled in connecting with people and inspiring others to protect Africa鈥檚 wildlife heritage.

Warren was killed in her home on June 29 in Limbe, Cameroon, by unknown assailants.

She was the research coordinator of the 菊花视频鈥檚 Takamanda-Mone Landscape Project and oversaw the monitoring of Cross River gorillas and other endangered wildlife in Takamanda National Park and Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary, both recently established for the conservation of these primates. The Cross River gorilla is the rarest of the four gorilla subspecies, found only in Cameroon and Nigeria and numbering fewer than 300 animals.

Warren had a passion for mountain climbing and had hoped to establish an African 鈥淭hree Peak Challenge鈥濃�攎odeled on the National Three Peak Challenge in the United Kingdom鈥攁s a fund-raising tool for gorilla conservation. She succeeded in reaching the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro鈥擜frica鈥檚 highest mountain at 19,321 feet above sea level鈥攁nd had plans to climb both Mt. Kenya and Mt. Stanley (the second and third highest peaks on the continent).

Warren鈥檚 conservation work spanned nearly two decades across the continent of Africa, with a special focus on primates. In 2003, she completed her doctoral thesis on olive baboons in Nigeria, the first such study on the species in the forests of West Africa. Warren also studied the world-famous mountain gorillas of the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda, where George Schaller and Dian Fossey conducted their seminal studies on the subspecies. Her first position for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund at the Karisoke Research Station鈥攁s a research assistant鈥攚as interrupted by the outbreak of the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Warren later returned to Rwanda to continue her research and administrative work there, completing her Masters thesis on mountain gorillas in 1998 (from University College London) and serving briefly as acting director of Karisoke in 1999.

In addition to conducting research, Warren provided guidance for aspiring conservationists and field staff, most recently supervising students in Cameroon.

Warren graduated from University College London in 1992. She completed her PhD at the University of Surrey in 2003.

She was born in London, England and is survived by her parents, Keith and Henny Warren, and brother, Mark Warren, all from Chichester, England, as well as her partner, Aaron Nicholas of Limbe, Cameroon (formerly of Caernarfon, Wales).

Warren鈥檚 parents have established the Ymke Warren Gorilla Conservation Fund to help generate support for Africa鈥檚 promising conservationists.