The Peregrine Fund
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The Peregrine Fund (named after the bird of prey of the same name the
Mission
The Peregrine Fund's mission is to restore rare species through captive breeding and release, improve capacity for local conservation, conduct scientific research and environmental education, and conserve habitat.[2] It currently is involved in recovery of the California condor and Aplomado Falcon, and research on American Kestrels and Gyrfalcons in the United States and a variety of raptors in Central America, South America, West Indies, Madagascar, Asia, East Africa, Australia, and the Philippines.[3] Conservation efforts have been extended to more than 100 species in 70 countries.
Approach
The Peregrine Fund is a non-political, science-based, project-driven conservation organization. It works in partnership with local conservation groups and local, state and national governments on its recovery projects. It also partners with students by supporting their education in raptor biology and other scientific fields and has trained, mentored, and supported over 100 students to increase local capacity for conservation science.
History
In 1965, at The first Peregrine Conference, biologists concluded that the peregrine falcon was in serious decline around the world. Concerned enthusiasts in the sport of
Ornithology professor Tom Cade founded The Peregrine Fund at Cornell University in 1970 to breed the falcons in captivity and release them to the wild. In 1974 a second breeding operation was begun in Fort Collins, Colorado, managed by Bill Burnham, who went on to become president of The Peregrine Fund for 23 years. Both operations relocated to Boise, Idaho after the World Center for Birds of Prey was established in 1984. The Peregrine Fund bred and released more than 4,000 falcons from 1974 to 1997.[7] In 1985, The Peregrine Fund held an international conference on the 20th anniversary of the first Peregrine Conference to celebrate the survival and growing recovery of the falcon population and to assess its global status.
Since 1970, The Peregrine Fund has hatched and raised 20 species of rare birds and pioneered propagation and releasing techniques for numerous species. Species systematically released to the wild to develop techniques or restore wild populations include the Aplomado falcon, bald eagle, bat falcon, California condor, harpy eagle, Madagascar fish eagle, Mauritius kestrel, orange-breasted falcon, and prairie falcon. Overall, the organization has monitored, surveyed and worked with more than 100 raptor species in the wild around the world.
U.S. programs
The Peregrine Fund currently has two recovery projects in the United States: The
California condors were close to extinction in the 1980s when an effort began to capture the last birds in existence, numbering 22 in 1981. Condor pairs have produced more than 100 offspring at the Boise breeding facility. By 1996 there were enough young condors to begin establishing a recovery effort in Arizona (one was already underway in California). The goal of the recovery plan is to establish two geographically separate populations, each with at least 150 condors and 15 breeding pairs. When chicks are ready to fledge, they are transported from the breeding facility in Idaho to the release site in Arizona. These condors produced their first wild offspring by 2003. The future success of the program is jeopardized by
International programs
The Neotropical Raptor Conservation Program is part of The Peregrine Fund's international projects. Raptor projects include the harpy eagle and orange-breasted falcon. Since 1998, more than 40 harpy eagles have been hatched in captivity and released to the wild in Panama and Belize. In 2007, rare orange-breasted falcons bred in captivity were released for the first time to the wild in their traditional territory in Belize. The organization has worked with more than 35 raptor species in the wild in this part of the world.
The
and among the rarest species of raptor in the world.The Pan Africa Raptor Conservation Program is designed to help stem the
The Asia Pacific Raptor Conservation Program focuses on raptors on islands between
The Asian Vulture Crisis Project addresses declining vulture populations on the
References
- ISBN 0-9619839-3-0
- ^ Fund, The Peregrine. "Our Mission | The Peregrine Fund". www.peregrinefund.org. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
- ^ Burnham, P., Cafferty, J. 2007. Annual Report 2006, The Peregrine Fund, World Center for Birds of Prey. The Peregrine Fund, Boise, ID.
- ^ Fund, The Peregrine. "Student Education and Research: Neotropical | The Peregrine Fund". www.peregrinefund.org. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
- ^ Fund, The Peregrine. "Financial Information | The Peregrine Fund". www.peregrinefund.org. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
- ISBN 0-9619839-0-6
- ^ Burnham 2003