The Mabel Dorn Reeder Conservation Endowment Fund
The Mabel Dorn Reeder Conservation Endowment Fund annually awards grants to projects that enable Zoo Atlanta to expand its conservation actions and contributions.
Projects are proposed by team members across the Zoo and are selected by a review committee based on relevance to the Zoo’s animal population; conservation status and needs of the species in question; conservation significance; inclusion of education outreach; and professional development opportunities for the Zoo team.
2024 programs slated for support from the Mabel Dorn Reeder Conservation Endowment Fund
Gaia – Malaysia
Funding from Zoo Atlanta will aid in the construction of artificial nest sites; monitoring of nest sites and restored tree cavities; and training for local people to climb into the tree canopy to restore tree cavities. The project, which will benefit endangered wrinkled hornbills, vulnerable rhinoceros hornbills, and critically endangered helmeted hornbills, was proposed by Lauren Wilson, Curator of Birds, and Sam Grabarz, Bird Keeper.
Red Panda Network – Nepal
Funding from Zoo Atlanta will establish greenhouses and a shed house in eastern Nepal in continuing support for reforestation in degraded red panda habitat. While red pandas are the target species, the project also benefits other species native to this ecosystem, including Chinese pangolins, musk deer, dholes, leopards, and Himalayan black bears. The project was proposed by Kenn Harwood, Curator of Mammals.
Turtle Survival Alliance – Madagascar
Support from Zoo Atlanta will assist the Turtle Survival Alliance’s veterinary program in testing, examinations, and analysis to ensure that critically endangered radiated tortoises, previously confiscated from the wildlife trade and slated to be rewilded, are physically fit enough to be reintroduced to the wild and will not present disease threats to existing wild tortoise populations. The project, which will also benefit critically endangered spider tortoises, flat-tailed tortoises, and plowshare tortoises, was proposed by Kate Leach, DVM, Associate Veterinarian.
Wildlife Alliance – Cambodia
Funding from Zoo Atlanta will support the Veal Pi Ranger Station’s anti-poaching efforts in a high-density area for vulnerable clouded leopard populations in the Cardamom Rainforest, an ecosystem which also supports many other threatened mammal species. The project was proposed by Michelle Elliott, Mammal Keeper.
Goualougo Triangle Ape Project – Central Africa
Support from Zoo Atlanta will assist in mitigating threats to apes, including critically endangered western lowland gorillas and endangered central chimpanzees, in the Congo Basin. The project assesses the common needs of apes, their ecosystem, and human communities and strengthens conservation policies governing the area. The project was proposed by Jodi Carrigan, Curator of Primates.
Pan African Sanctuary Alliance Green Project – Cameroon
Funding will support the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance’s Green Project, a collaborative, community-focused effort which aids in protecting biodiversity, including a fragile population of endangered drill monkeys, in Mount Cameroon National Park. The project was proposed by Pam Miller, Small Primate Keeper.