Conservation Grant Awardees

Helping Conservation Worldwide

For a zoo our size it is unusual to have a wildlife conservation fund…but we do. We’ve had one since 1985 thanks to John Boyles and Dick Faber. Each year we look for projects where our small grants go a long way and make a big difference. We’d like to congratulate all the dedicated people who applied this year for the great work they do and thank our Footsteps sponsors and donors who make this Fund possible.

Eco-tourism and Conservation: Face to face with Wild Animals Rehabilitation

Principal Investigator (s): Francisca Astorga. MV. PhD (c)
Organization: Cascada de las Animas Rescue Center and Cascada de las Animas Eco-Touristic Center
In Chile, there are no governmental institutions to dispose confiscated wild animals. Most of them are sent to Zoos and private certified shelters. Cascada de las Animas is a certified wild animal rescue center that has being working since 2003, receiving more than 100 specimens. Most of them are reintroduced, but some of them are no longer prepared to be back in
nature.

Cascada de las Animas rescue center is associated with the Cascada de las Animas Eco-touristic center that receives more than 10.000 visitors each year. This situation it’s a unique platform for environmental education. The funded project will construct new enclosures for native Eagles, Foxes and Lesser Grison. These species were selected based on their conservation status and the increasing number of specimens that urgently need a permanent shelter. The project aims to give confiscated non-releasable wild animals a second chance to live while their captivity also has an education value for biodiversity conservation.

Managing Human-Elephant Conflict With Young People In Northern Uganda

Principal Investigator(s): Joel Musaasizi
Organization: Wildlife Clubs of Uganda
Human-elephant conflicts in northern Uganda are undermining recovery efforts after a long and brutal civil war that affected the demographics of the region. In order to establish long term conflict resolution mechanisms, it is imperative to equip young people attending high school in the conflict hotspots with information about conflict scenarios and the possible ways to manage agriculture within a wildlife rich landscape. Through this initiative, the Wildlife Clubs of Uganda will identify and enable 40 young people in the affected local communities in areas surrounding Murchison Falls National Park and East-Madi wildlife reserve to assist farmers to establish conflict prevention measures and act as stewards for elephant conservation in a volatile region.

Captive care & rehabilitation of Red-capped mangabeys to enhance protection of the species in the wild.

Principal Investigator(s): Claire Coulson
Organization: CERCOPAN
CERCOPAN runs a primate sanctuary in South-eastern Nigeria. They rescue and rehabilitate six native primate species, victims of the bush meat trade. In conjunction with State authorities, they enforce the laws protecting these species and provide further protection through an education program that touches over 20,000 individuals a year and helps to impact their lifestyle choices. A number of the animals in their care are candidates for future release into protected forest areas as part of their goal to re-establish former levels of population. None of these projects would be possible without the facilities to house for the orphans that they rescue. This project will fund the need to replace three enclosures for the Red-capped mangabeys in their care.

Saving Zimbabwe’s endangered wild dogs through education

Principal Investigator(s): Dr Rosemary Joy Groom
Organization: African Wildlife Conservation Fund
The African wild dog, Lycaon pictus, is the second most endangered large carnivore in Africa. Throughout their range, wild dog survival is threatened by habitat loss and/or fragmentation, wire snaring, disease, prey depletion, human persecution and competition with lions. Such threats have increased considerably in south-east Zimbabwe since the onset of the Land Reform Program in 2000, which has caused the extirpation of wild dogs from many areas, with consequent loss of genetic diversity. Using the Savé Valley Conservancy (SVC) as their focal study area, Rosemary and her team have
investigated the major threats to existing wild dog populations.

The funded project focuses on the education component of the program including the design and distribution of resource materials to primary schools and training of teachers. Benefits to conservation from the project will include a better relationship between wildlife areas and neighboring communities, a reduction in fence destruction and setting of wire snares (poaching) and a reduction in habitat loss from encroachment.

Community Capacity Development for Wildlife Conflict Mitigation and Conservation

Principal Investigator: Mr. Manish Saxena
Organization: Wing Of Research In Local Development (WORLD)
Loss of habitat is one of the major reasons for increasing incidents of human –wildlife conflict resulting in loss of precious wildlife in Rajasthan in India. Villagers with the fear of loss of crop and livestock attack intruding Leopard resulting in Leopard mortality. Recently published data of Forest Department showcase that in 2009, 129 out of 290 leopard deaths are caused due to human leopard conflict; similarly in 2010 out of 188, 88 deaths were due to leopard human conflict. This is a critical issue and needs immediate intervention for preservation of Leopards in the area. Incidents of human-leopard conflict can be averted by sensitizing and educating the community about the importance of wildlife conservation, conflict mitigation and wildlife rescue. The funded project is a step towards developing collaboration among the community, forest department and administration for wildlife conservation by developing a participatory sustainable model.