Did You Know? Since 1995 SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Adventure CampsSM have played host to nearly 300,000 campers, hailing from all 50 U.S. states and 22 countries. View More SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund » Summer 2005 » Spring 2005 » Winter 2005 » Summer 2004 » Spring 2004 Mbeli Bai Gorilla Study Nouabale-Ndoki Project Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, Africa The Mbeli Bai Gorilla Study in Africa's Northern Congo is among the longest-standing field studies of western lowland gorillas. Project overview: Initiated in 1995, the Mbeli Bai Gorilla Study is currently the only long-term study investigating western gorillas (gorilla gorilla) using direct observations. The study has provided important baseline information on the social organization, demography and behavior of an intact population of gorillas. As part of the study, Congolese researchers are continually trained. Their permanent presence provides an effective deterrent to poaching. The project also reaches out to the community to affect local people's attitudes and perceptions about the rare wildlife in their own backyards. Project results: Supported in the past by Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and now the SW&BG Conservation Fund, this project has identified more than 220 gorillas with life-histories of some individuals covering almost 10 years. The long-term scope of the study has revealed examples of unusual behavior such as male “splash” displays and rare occurrences such as twin births. The project's continued employment of local Bomassa villagers has significantly increased awareness in the local community of the importance of conserving the Bai, has provided alternative sources of income and has decreased poaching incidents. “Club Ebobo” – the project's conservation education program – now reaches approximately 200 schoolchildren a year, increasing awareness of the rare and fascinating animals in their own backyard and actions they can take to help protect them. Black-lion Tamarin Conservation Wildlife Trust, Brazil Project overview: The black-lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus) is one of the most endangered primates in the world. A flagship species of Brazil's interior Atlantic forest, black-lion tamarins are currently dispersed into small and isolated subpopulations with little if any possibility of genetic exchange. The only chance for their long-term survival is a management plan that treats these groups as one metapopulation. Project results thus far: The $10,000 grant from the Fund enabled Wildlife Trust to continue efforts to secure a safe future for this species. Specifically, the grant enabled researchers to complete a field study that uncovered two new populations of the species (approximately 100 new individuals in the wild). In addition, successful animal translocations were conducted this past March, increasing the possibility for genetic flow between the subpopulations. A “threat diagnostic” tool was also created with the Fund's support, allowing researchers to assess which threats (hunting, erosion, landowner practices, etc.) have the greatest impact. The Fund's grant also enabled Wildlife Trust to conduct more than 25 school presentations, reaching about 200 local students.

Results from the Field Just in its second year, the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund has already contributed more than $800,000 to 75 projects across the U.S. and around the world. But increased grant-making and quantity of projects are not the definitive goals of the Fund or how it measures success. Conservation impact over the long term is what the Fund seeks to achieve. So how have the Fund-supported projects fared thus far? Field reports from four projects around the world follow. Jorupe Biodiversity Reserve American Bird Conservancy, Ecuador These juvenile gray-cheeked parakeets were originally confiscated from trappers. They have since been successfully released to the wild. Project overview: American Bird Conservancy and its Ecuadorian partner group Fundacion Jocotoco are establishing a new reserve in the Rio Jorupe watershed to protect 1,000 acres of Tumbesian tropical dry forest, an endangered habitat of global significance. There are 59 species of birds endemic to the region, including the endangered gray-cheeked parakeet whose population has been decimated by bird trappers. Establishing this reserve helps lay the foundation for an expanded conservation initiative that will include ecotourism, research programs, community education and outreach. The Jorupe Reserve will be the seventh in a series of nine planned reserves to protect key sites for bird conservation throughout Ecuador. Jocotoco's six current reserves occupy a total of 18,000 acres. Project results thus far: The Fund's $10,000 grant helped American Bird Conservancy and Fundacion Jocotoco successfully acquire the property of Galo Celi, a critical tract of intact and restorable dry tropical forest habitat in the Tumbesian region of southwest Ecuador. This acquisition, along with future proposed sites, will help protect the entire upper watershed of the Rio Jorupe and the diversity of wildlife it supports. Black Rhinos World Wildlife Fund Etosha National Park, Namibia, Africa Project overview: Namibia holds almost one third of all the black rhinoceros remaining in Africa and is the stronghold of the southwestern subspecies (Diceros bicornis bicornis). For the past several years, World Wildlife Fund has helped Etosha National Park improve its information base on rhinos, with the focus on achieving better population estimates and management plans. Project results thus far: With more than 95 percent of the total population found in Namibia and approximately 70 percent of the population found in Etosha National Park, rhino numbers are increasing steadily under a well-established and innovative conservation and management program, partially funded by the SW&BG Conservation Fund. This population has grown to such an extent that it is used as a donor group for other conservation areas. In Fall 2004, an aerial survey of Etosha National Park was conducted to produce a more accurate black rhino population estimate. The black rhino counts, made possible through the SW&BG Conservation Fund grant, indicated that Etosha National Park's population has increased to an estimated 700 animals. This annual census allows Namibia's government to make critical decisions for the biological management of the black rhino population