Died: April 26th, 2021
Rory Young, who has died aged 49, was a wildlife protector and conservationist who believed passionately that the future of the Earth, and of mankind, was dependant on protecting the planetâs bio-diversity.
His devotion to this cause led to him being murdered in Burkina Faso, a fate he met when a wildlife ranger patrol he was guiding was attacked by gunmen with Nusrat al-Islam, a Saharan affiliate of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The attackers took him captive, along with two Spanish journalists, David Beriain and Roberto Fraile. A member of the Burkinabe armed forces was also missing after the melee.