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| Indianapolis Prize finalist Laurie Marker is recognized for her work to save the cheetah. |
Six animal conservationists were named finalists this month for an award that honors those who have made significant strides in conservation efforts. Three of the finalists were chosen because of their efforts to save big cats.
The Indianapolis Prize awards $100,000 in unrestricted funds to the winner and is the largest individual monetary award for animal conservation in the world, according to the Indianapolis Zoo, the organization that initiated the biennial award.
Rodney Jackson, K. Ullas Karanth and Laurie Marker were named finalists due to their conservation work for snow leopards, tigers and cheetahs.
Jackson is the director and founder of the Snow Leopard Conservancy and began radio-tracking the cats more than 20 years ago in Nepal. In addition, he implemented surveying techniques that secured images of the elusive big cat hunting and mating, according to the Indianapolis Zoo. The World Conservation Union estimates that less than 2,500 mature, breeding snow leopards remain worldwide, and their numbers are declining due to habitat loss and poaching.
Karanth is a senior conservation scientist and tiger expert with the Wildlife Conservation Society. He has worked for two decades to boost the threatened tiger populations in India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Although numbers vary, tiger populations in India are estimated to be between 1,500 and 3,500 — down from 40,000 a hundred years ago.
Founder and executive director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, Laurie Marker collaborated with researchers from the Smithsonian Institution and the University of California, Davis to produce the first-ever early stage cheetah embryos using in vitro fertilization. Approximately 12,000 to 15,000 cheetahs remain worldwide, according to the organization’s figures.
The winner will be announced at the Indianapolis Prize Gala in September 2008. For more information about the Indianapolis Prize, click here.