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.
2023 programs slated for support from the Mabel Dorn Reeder Conservation Endowment Fund
Continuing support for the Red Panda Network’s reforestation nursery (red pandas)
Funding from Zoo Atlanta will help to enable the continued support of an established reforestation nursery in Jaubari, Nepal, to counteract habitat loss for endangered red pandas. While red pandas are the target species, the project also benefits other species native to this ecosystem, including Chinese pangolins, musk deer, dholes, leopards, clouded leopards, and Himalayan black bears. The project was proposed by Kenn Harwood, Curator of Mammals.
Anti-poaching program to reduce mortality of clouded leopards (clouded leopards)
Support from Zoo Atlanta will assist the Wildlife Alliance in anti-poaching efforts aimed at reducing mortality of clouded leopards due to snares in Cambodia’s Cardamom Rainforest. The initiative will include law enforcement patrols and snare removals in an ecosystem that is home to an important population of this vulnerable species and other threatened mammals. The project was proposed by Michelle Elliott, Mammal Keeper.
Program to advance the study and practice of reintroducing critically endangered slender-snouted crocodiles (slender-snouted crocodiles)
Funding will support Florida International University’s project to advance the science and practice of reintroductions as a conservation strategy for critically endangered crocodilians using west African slender-snouted crocodiles as a model. Work will include ecological evaluation and efforts to build a new generation of conservation advocates within local communities. The project was proposed by Noah Carl, Herpetology Keeper
The Pan African Sanctuary Alliance’s Green Project to protect biodiversity (drill monkeys)
Funding will support the Green Project, a collaborative, community-focused project that incentivizes long-term and sustainable community engagement with conservation to protect the biodiverse habitat, including the fragile drill population residing in the Mount Cameroon National Park. Zoo Atlanta support will specifically fund efforts by the Limbe Wildlife Centre, a member of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance, in creating alternative, sustainable livelihood alternatives to hunting and animal trading for people living in the buffer zone of the park. The project was proposed by Patti Frazier, Lead Keeper of Primates.
Mitigating threats to apes in the Congo Basin (western lowland gorillas)
Congo-Apes, an arm of the Goualougo Triangle Ape Project, works to mitigate 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.