Barn Owl recovery Project - MWT
£4,119 - Target met in 2024
The Curraghs Wildlife Park have signed a memorandum of understanding with Manx Wildlife Trust on this project. This will be an annual ongoing project with continued support and co-working between the MWT and Curraghs Wildlife Park. Barn owls are a species that are on the Isle of Man Red list, there are less than 10 pairs of breeding Barn owls in the IoM. This project is combining awareness building with practical steps such as positioning of specialist Barn owl nesting boxes. Supplementary feeding has been used to keep this small vulnerable population going however the project aims to transition from supplementary feeding to land management that will result in enough rodent prey for Barn owls to thrive naturally. Rob Fisher from MWT is the Farmlands Birds Officer and is working with Farmers to create the right habitat and reduce rodent poisoning in favour of 'inviting' Barn owls to stay on a farm and control rodents naturally as an apex predator.
Manx Ornithological Society - Swift project
£2,500 - Target met in 2024
The Isle of Man's bird populations of Swift have been in decline. For a long time Swifts have utilised man-made buildings to make their nests. However modern buildings are not usually suitable and this has lead to a decline in Swifts nesting and breeding on the IoM. The Swift project is installing species specific nest boxes for Swifts in key target areas of towns to halt the decline of Swifts on our Island.
Impact Madagascar - Red ruffed lemurs
£4,000 - Target met - 2021
Impact Madagascar's project has translocated 8 Red ruffed lemurs from a dwindling forest where they could no longer survive to the a protected area in the Farankaraina forest in Antongil bay in Madagascar where they can thrive and increase numbers.
Red Panda Network - Reforestation Sponsorship
£5,104 - Target met -2021
The Red Panda Network are currently raising funds to plant thousands of trees and secure land in an important part of Nepal that will help bridge fragmented habitats and connect two protected areas within the Kangchenjunga landscape of Eastern Nepal, the region in the Eastern Himalayas is part of the Himalayan global biodiversity hotspot. This corridor will not only help Red Pandas which are the flagship species of the area but also other endangered animals such as the Chinese pangolin, white-rumped vulture and the Bengal tiger.
$5,000 will purchase one hectare, provide the native trees grown by the local community nurseries and provide the wages to employ a local land steward. A further $1,600 is going to the Panda Challenger program which will see the donation matched by corporate sponsors and used in anti-poaching work carried out in the region, so has a value of $3,200.
https://redpandanetwork.org/Why-Save-The-Red-Panda
Read about the Curraghs Wildlife Park's sponsorship 2022
The Urban Fishing cat Project
£3,554 - Target met - 2021
Anya Ratnayaka is an enthusiastic conversationalist that works to gather information on the Sri Lankan populations of Fishing cats. Our donation has went towards genetic profiling, camera traps and other equipment to help monitor and compare differences in two different populations. Understanding how these cats use their habitat, and with some success share some areas with man in a semi urban environment, is key to understanding what conservation measures are needed to protect them.
Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative
£4000, Target met - 2021
Respected and award winning Patricia Medici heads a team in Brazil working mostly in the Pantanal and Cerrado, and is now expanding into other areas of the Amazon. The lowland Tapir initiative monitors populations by camera traps and builds a picture of their movements using GPS collars. A selected team of six volunteers (biologists and veterinarians) carried out fieldwork in Morro do Diabo State Park, an Atlantic Forest field site, analysing data in early 2021. Patricia has been instrumental in understanding how best to protect this wonderful species and is highly regarded as a top expert and advocate for the species, engaging communities and officials to protect this species and the habitat.
https://tapirconservation.org.br/
Golden Lion Tamarin Yellow Fever Vaccinations
£4,000, Target met - 2021
Associação Mico-Leão Dourado (AMLD or Golden Lion Tamarin Association) is running a project to save wild populations of Golden lion tamarins from Yellow Fever disease. The Golden Lion Tamarin, endemic to lowland Atlantic Forest of Brazil, is one of the most threatened primates in the world. The species was saved from extinction in the wild by a reintroduction program using Tamarins from 43 different zoos in the 1970s and 1980s. Numbers recovered from just 200 to 3,700 with 53% of the population descended from zoo animals. However, numbers since 2018 have dropped down to 2,500 mostly due to an outbreak of yellow fever. AMLD is carrying out a yellow fever vaccination program and monitoring its effectiveness to help save this wonderful species in the wild.
Golden Lion Tamarin Jennifer's Forest Corridor
£4,500, Target met - 2024
Jennifer Mickleberg was a highly regarded conservationist at Atlanta zoo and was instrumental in Golden lion tamarin conservation - As just part of her work she identified where corridors were needed to join-up the fragmented habitat and make populations genetically viable. After her sudden unexpected passing the Associação Mico-Leão Dourado (AMLD or Golden Lion Tamarin Association) will plant its most important forest corridor to date—the one that will finally achieve Jennifer’s goal of 2,000 golden lion tamarins living in connected forest. “Jennifer’s Forest Corridor” will be a strip of restored native Atlantic Forest that allows descendants of zoo-born golden lion tamarins in one isolated forest fragment to cross cattle pasture to reach a population of native golden lion tamarins. In a few years, when the forest is tall enough for the tamarins to use, Jennifer’s corridor will result in over 3,000 golden lion tamarins living and freely reproducing in one big forest, fulfilling her dream of a viable population.
https://www.savetheliontamarin.org/jennifer-mickelberg-memorial
Manx BirdLife- Point of Ayre National Reserve
£2,900 Target met - 2021
The wetland in the North of the island provides a safe haven for many birds, including migratory birds and other life. The conservation fund has paid for a container to allow storage of tools used in work parties to improve and restore the reserve. find out more here - http://manxbirdlife.im/point-of-ayre/
£2,000 Target met - 2023
To fund the DNA sampling of water to discover species in the wetland and help inform management
Manx Wildlife Trust – MOTUS receiver
£4,476, Target met 2021
Having a MOTUS receiver on the Calf adds significantly to the development of a network that covers the British Isles, and will be the first antenna sited at a west coast Bird Observatory. This will also provide the opportunity to detect other species of birds, that have been tagged elsewhere in the UK and Europe, that are using this flyway during their migrations to and from breeding and wintering grounds. A large collaboration of scientists and conservationists have been working together to advance research into migratory bats and birds in the UK by building a network of receivers that can track them through the installation of tiny radio transmitters fitted to the animal. When a tagged bird or bat passes within range of a receiver 2-15 km (depending on the terrain and how high the animal is flying), the receiver automatically logs the presence and direction of flight of the animal. If there is a large network of such radio-receiving stations, we can detail there movement over large areas and timescales. This can build up a picture which helps inform how best to protect migratory birds.
£4,000 - target met 2024
Further funding towards 20 more TAGS - with a growing network of Motus detectors around the UK coast lines this is helping to build up a picture of bird migration - and ways we can help many different bird species
The Lemur Conservation Association (AEECL)
2,000 Euros – This is a regular annual donation – Target met each year 2020,2021, 2022, 2023
The Lemur Conservation Association (AEECL) is a zoo-managed conservation organisation based in Sahamalaza-Iles Radama National Park in Madagascar. The main aims of the charity are based on the conservation of the lemur species within the park, with a specific focus on the critically endangered blue-eyed black lemur. Our goals are to research, protect and restore the vital ecosystems these conservation-dependent species inhabit, collaborating with local communities and authorities to achieve a sustainable and biodiverse habitat for the future.
Manx Wildlife Trust, Manx Shearwater Project
£4,000
The Island’s leading conservation charity works to protect our unique environment, on land and in the sea. Our donation was used to purchase an infrared camera for tracking Manx Shearwaters as part of MWT's Manx Shearwater Project.
£4,250 - in 2022 has been donated to the Manx Wildlife Trust to enable the 2023 Seal surveys to be conducted
This survey scheme helps us gain a better understanding of our internationally important seal populations, their distribution and abundance and if there has been a change since the previous survey was undertaken in 2017. Also the donation is going to Calf of Man seal pup surveys, this has been running since 2009 and helps us monitor the Calf of Man’s seal pups and their survival.
Sphenisco, Marine Protection Area Chile
£2000 - in 2020
Sphenisco is working towards establishing a conservation area near the coast of Chile and Peru, in order to protect the hunting and breeding grounds of the Humboldt penguin. Sphenisco’s work involves caring for ill and injured animals, intervening when penguins are taken illegally from the wild, environmental education and ecological habitat conservation. Due to a declining population caused in part by overfishing and climate change, the Humboldt penguin is threatened. The current population is estimated at 32,000 mature individuals.
£4,000 - in 2024 - Further support of their on-going monitoring work in Chile of important nesting sites. One 1/3rd of an important population has been lost to avian flu. However the important monitoring of nest areas has lead to a conservation 'win' as Sphenisco has been instrumental in getting the Chile government to declare the nesting beach a protected area to help in the reversal of this species decline.
Javan Primate Conservation Project
£8,300 since 2017
This project rehabilitates silvery gibbons and langurs into a safe forest in Java. The centre receives these primates mostly from confiscations by authorities – the animals were originally stolen from the wild. The money we donate goes towards cost of food, veterinary bills, staff time to ensure they can survive in the wild and release. The project is run by the Aspinall Foundation. Silvery gibbons are endangered with around 2,000 mature gibbons found in Java and nowhere else.
Aloatra Lemur Project
- Habitat and species protection, collection of scientific data and education for locals
- Target for 2019 – £1,000 or more
- We donated £1,500
This project protects the habitat and individual gentle lemurs around Lake Aloatra in Madagascar. They are Critically Endangered, with less than 2,000 in the wild and those only existing in one very small area. The money goes towards wardens to patrol the area, collection of data to help conserve the species and the education of locals and school children so they can understand how important it is to look after the species. The project is run by the Durrell trust.
Red Panda Network
- Community Monitoring and habitat protection
- £500 donated in 2018
- Target for 2019 – £1,000
- We donated £1,200
This project has a community focus to educate and train local people to be guardians of the forest, making conservation of red pandas financially beneficial to local people to help prevent poaching. It is well supported by many EAZA zoos and is a charity in its own right. The red panda population has declined by 50% over the last 20 years and there may be as few as 2,500 remaining in the wild. Red pandas' conservation status is Endangered.
Other Notable Donations
- £1,500 to the Australian Zoo Association (AZA) in response to the bush fires that have devastated their wildlife
- £5,000 donated to World Land Trust to buy 50 acres of Rainforest in South America (2015)
- £500 to Keepers of the Wild, a BIAZA initiative
- £300 to Thandi Endangered Species Association (African Rhinos)