American Association of Zoo Keepers

Bowling For Rhinos

 

Our biggest annual fundraiser, BFR was started by one AAZK Chapter in 1990. It is now the signature fundraiser for AAZK, and over 80 chapters throughout the US and Canada participate each year. This annual event provides zoo keepers with an avenue to raise funds and awareness for conservation of the 5 remaining species of rhinos and their habitats. BFR is run completely by volunteers, so 100% of the money raised is sent directly to rhino conservation organizations in Africa and Asia.

 

Rhinos have lived on earth for over 50 million years but whether they survive even 50 more years is open to speculation. There were once over 100 species of rhinos but today only 5 remain, and all 5 species are endangered. The black rhino is a symbol of conservation in Africa just as the bald eagle is to the United States. The rhino is a large, flagship species, and by saving the rhino we save large expanses of habitat, and by saving these habitats we are saving many endangered species, not just the rhino.

 

Rhinos are on the brink of extinction, mainly due to poaching. Just 100 years ago there were over 500,000 of these gentle giants and today there are less than 30,000. There is a huge demand for rhino horn in some countries, mainly for rumored medicinal properties or as a status symbol, and in the last ten years 9,396 rhinos were lost to poaching in Africa. On average, one rhino is poached every 16 hours in Africa. The only chance for rhinos to survive is to maintain protected areas for them to live. BFR money is used to fence in these areas, to purchase planes and land rover vehicles to curtail poaching, to translocate rhinos into the sanctuaries and parks, to purchase trip cameras for censusing, to pay salaries for anti-poaching security guards and much more. 

 

Since Bowling For Rhinos began in 1990, over $9 million has been raised for rhino conservation. These funds are divided among 3 conservation organizations in Africa and Asia:

1. In Kenya BFR supports the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, where the donations help protect both black and white rhinos and most of the other species native to East Africa. The LWC works as a catalyst for community-based conservation of wildlife and its habitat. It does this through the protection and management of species, the initiation and support of community conservation and development programs, and the education of neighboring areas in the value of wildlife. For more information on Lewa Wildlife Conservancy go to www.lewa.org.

2. Also in Kenya, BFR supports Action for Cheetahs in Kenya. ACK was added to the list of organizations BFR supports beginning in 2009. The mission of ACK is to promote the conservation of cheetahs in Kenya through research, awareness and community participation. Since cheetahs share much of the same habitat as rhinos, so by working to save them we are also saving rhinos and many other species. For more information on Action for Cheetahs in Kenya go to www.actionforcheetahs.org.  

3. Through a partnership with the International Rhino Foundation we also support the conservation of the 3 most endangered rhino species: the Indian, Javan and Sumatran rhinos in Asia. For more information on the International Rhino Foundation go to www.rhinos.org. IRF supports 2 National Parks in Sumatra that house over 60% of the Sumatran rhino population. They also support the Ujung Kulon National Park in Java, which is home to the only population of Javan rhinos in the world.

 

Lincoln Park AAZK has participated in Bowling For Rhinos almost every year since 1990, and our chapter has raised over $217,000. Information on this year's BFR event is available on our upcoming events page. For more information on BFR go to www.aazk.org/bowling-for-rhinos.

 

 

 

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2012 BFR promotional video produced by AAZK National