Animal keepers go fund-raising crazy!
Jill Driver and Andy Hemmings canoe around ‘Lemur Island'– to raise funds for ‘Furget-me-not'.
From 1 st September, Shepreth Wildlife Park will be supporting its 6th wildlife conservation charity - ‘Furget-me-not'. The park already incorporates a conservation talk on otters at its daily feed - 3:30pm. In addition to this, it will now spread the word about the wonderful work this charity is doing to protect the wild otter and other exotic species threatened at the hand of the illegal ‘fur trade'.
Furget-me-not was established to help save the otter.
There aims are to: Involve local fishermen in conservation of otters.
Train rangers and government staff to ensure legal protection of otters is enforced.
Increase interception of smuggled skins.
Give people an otter-friendly alternative to hunting.
Raise awareness that wildlife is an important part of Cambodian heritage.
Encourage eco-tourism that benefits locals, not outsiders.
Confiscate orphaned cubs being kept for skins.
Establish a safe breeding population.
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Education Officer – Lanie Sweetman and Interpretation Officer – Grace Dickinson were hopping and wallowing in pigs mud, respectively, in celebration of the end of ‘The Year of the Frog!'
Shepreth Wildlife Park has been tirelessly collecting money for the last 12 months for ‘Amphibian Ark' and Lanie and Grace want to finish the campaign off in style!…all to help raise funds through sponsorship for our amphibian friends!
Roughly one-third to half of all 6,000 known amphibian species will more than likely become extinct within the next decade, an extinction crisis unprecedented since that of the dinosaurs. The combined effects of habitat loss, climate change, water and air contamination, and the chytrid fungus are the apparent culprits behind this conservation crisis. What was once considered a last resort conservation strategy – the capture and captive breeding of individual species outside of their natural habitat– has now become the only way to spare numerous species from their otherwise-certain extinction.
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Head Keeper Katherine Lyon, with friends Tracey Richards & Megan Cooper, walked 9 miles with their canine companions to raise funds for the Madagascar Fauna Group, an on going campaign the Wildlife Park has been supporting for the last year to help save lemurs in the wild.
Recent estimates suggest that only 9.9% of Madagascar's original vegetation remains and less than 20% of that remaining area is nominally protected. So we have lost 90% of the Madagascan forests and therefore lemur habitat!
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Rebecca & friend, Kelly Murfett, swam 5km at Royston Leisure Centre, who kindly supported the two swimmers throughout their training period.
Tigers love water, and so what better way to celebrate Rana's birthday, than swimming 5km in aid of the wild tiger charity – 21st Century Tiger.
8th September was a very special date in the wildlife calendar this year, not only was it Rana the tiger's 10th birthday, but also the man who created Shepreth Wildlife Park, Terry Willers celebrated his 60th!
Terry has never been one for presents, nor has Rana for that matter, and so Shepreth Wildlife Park thought what better way to celebrate these two pinnacle milestones then by doing something crazy and helping wildlife at the same time!
Mr Willers also pledged all the money that would have been spent on his birthday go to the tiger charity.
If anyone would like to help the save tigers, please visit www.justgiving.com/savetigers
100 years ago there were 100,000 tigers comprising of 8 sub-species, today this figure stands at just 3,000 with only 5 sub-species remaining. It is estimated if nothing is done to save tigers, they are set to become extinct in the wild in just 20 years!
21st Century Tiger now receives £40,000 a year from zoos. Shepreth Wildlife Park is one of their top UK supporters. 100% of all donations to 21st Century Tiger go directly to wild tiger conservation projects. 21st Century Tiger provides long-term funding for protection and research projects for Amur & Sumatran tigers.
Please Help
If anyone would like to help support any of the charities please email office@sheprethwildlifepark.co.uk for details on donations, please state which charity you would like to help!
