Introduction

The American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) Bowling For Rhinos (BFR) fund-raiser has raised over US $2.3 million since 1990 entirely through volunteer efforts. It is the hard work and dedication of these volunteers that will make the difference in wildlife conservation efforts. Everyone should be proud to have taken part in such a successful program. We can now call ourselves Habitat Heroes as we not only save 4 of the 5 remaining rhino species, but we also save their habitat so we save some of the most unique ecosystems in the world!

100% of all donated funds go directly to three rhino conservation organizations. The first is Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (LWC) in Kenya, which has grown to 64,000 acres protected with a 2 meter tall electric fence that is home to 42 black and 40 white rhino (8/12/05). In addition, Lewa has access to use 15,000 acres of Government land called the Ngare Ndare Forest. In 1994, AAZK expanded its funding efforts to include Ujung Kulon National Park in Java, Indonesia which is home to the last 47 Javan rhinos on earth (with a few discovered in Viet Nam). AAZK expanded its funding efforts once again in 1997 to include Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (BBS) in Sumatra, Indonesia where one of the largest populations of Sumatran rhinos live. There is now an Indonesian Rhino Conservation Program that includes all parks with rhino populations and BFR has become part of this program. All these efforts also protect unique ecosystems enabling the conservation of hundreds of endangered plants and animals.

2004 BFR Results

44 chapters or institutions turned in money in 2005 for a total of US $214,271. This was a record year for Bowling For Rhinos!

2005 BFR to Date

As of September 10th, US $199,209 has been raised by 36 chapters or institutions. I estimate the total to be $230,000 for 2005.

Final result was $233,950 raised in 2005.

BFR 2005 Top Individual Money Raisers

Thanks to everyone for the outstanding effort again this year!

BFR 2005 Top Money Raising Chapters

Thanks to everyone again! Here are the top 3 fund raising organizations:

Portland AAZK has raised the most since BFR started with over $177,000!

• See Appendix I ( History of Funds Raised) for more information on funds raised.
• See Appendix II for a comparison of events over the years.

Habitat Heroes
It is extremely important to have continued participation from everyone if we are going to continue in our success. It doesn't matter how little or how much money is raised by your event. All events and funds raised are important! Public awareness of the plight of the rhino is of utmost importance so whatever it takes to get the word out is incredibly helpful. Remember, it takes about 5 consecutive years for a fund-raiser to take hold where people start to count on it, so it's important to hold an event each year! It's also fun!

Holding an event each year is a huge undertaking similar to planning a wedding each year, without the honeymoon at the end…but what is the alternative? The alternative is having only pictures of animals from the past, not of the future. Thanks to everyone who has made the effort to continue with Bowling For Rhinos for so many years. We have made a difference and will continue to do so! Rhinos and elephants are just 2 animals that would no longer be around today without the extraordinary efforts of AAZK's Bowling For Rhinos.

Why Rhinos?

Why save rhinos? Why not Bowling For Dung Beetles?

• Bowling for Rhinos is not only about saving rhinos. We save rhino habitat so we are saving everything from orchids to elephants in some of the most unique habitats in the world.
• Rhinos are the symbol for conservation in Kenya as is the Bald eagle in the U.S.A.
• The rhino is the symbol for AAZK. How would it look for an organization to have their symbol go extinct?
• We don't know what affect the loss of a single species will have on the rest of the globe. We don't know if having the rhino go extinct will bring on a collapse of everything else or if it is some obscure bug from Brazil that will do it. The key is to save habitat so all the animals, some that haven't even been discovered yet, can survive. IF we do not do this today, we could lose the cure for cancer before we even discover the plant or animal that holds the key.

Blue Rhino Gas Company

The Blue Rhino Gas Company became the National sponsor of Bowling For Rhinos beginning in 2004. The Blue Rhino gas company is extremely conservation oriented and uses the white rhino as their logo. They have pledged to donate $20,000 per year to Bowling for Rhinos. Blue Rhino is the leading cylinder gas recycler in the U.S. and keeps thousands of cylinders out of landfills each year. Some chapters have also received additional support from their local Blue Rhino Gas suppliers. See www.bluerhino.com for more information.

The International Rhino Foundation

The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) has secured a sponsor for 2 top money raisers to visit the Indonesian Parks. The IRF has agreed to award these trips annually. This will be offered in addition to the Lewa trips but winners must have raised at least $1,000 to be eligible. Trips will be awarded based on individual totals and winners will travel the following February.

Use of Bowling For Rhinos Funds

100% of all funds raised are sent directly to three Rhino conservation projects conserving four species of Rhino, their habitats, and hundreds of other endangered plants and animals. BFR helps preserve the Black and White Rhino in Africa and the Javan and Sumatran Rhino in Indonesia. The first $120,000 raised each year goes to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy with the remainder equally divided between the International Rhino Foundation and the Minnesota Zoo Adopt-a-Park/Sumatran Tiger Program for support of conservation programs for both Sumatran and Javan Rhinos.

See Appendix III for the annual funds distribution chart.

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Isiolo, Kenya

When AAZK's BFR began supporting Lewa in 1990 it was a 10,000 acre rhino sanctuary (Ngare Sergoi).The money raised in the initial years was used to fence the sanctuary and purchase items such as a plane and truck. By 1995, Lewa had become a 55,000 acre haven where everything from orchids to elephants could flourish. Recently, another 7,000 acres were purchased by Lewa. There are 145,000 acres under common wildlife policy but only 64,000 acres are enclosed by the fence with an area open at the north end to allow for the migration of elephant in and out of the sanctuary. In addition, Lewa is allowed to use the 15,000 acres of Ngare Ndare Forest Preserve. Starting in 1994, BFR funds were used to help provide the operating costs of this successful rhino sanctuary.

Most donors like to support high profile items such as vehicles or buildings so their name can be associated with it. Money to support non-tangible items such as salaries, fence maintenance, habitat analysis studies is harder to obtain. AAZK's BFR support of operating costs supplies Lewa with it's most difficult funding needs but the most crucial ones for the long term success of Lewa. With our support Lewa Wildlife Conservancy has become a model for other sanctuaries throughout Africa.

The annual operating cost of the sanctuary is over $850,000 with 170 guards protecting the area. Anna Merz, AAZK's BFR funds, and private donations combine together to fund the operating costs. Future plans include relocation of reticulated giraffe, common zebra, and other wildlife to restock depleted neighboring wildlife areas, and increasing the number of security patrols and vehicles. Fuzz Dyer, head of security for LWC since 1983 has moved back to his family ranch, Borona, which borders LWC. He plans to implement the same aims and principles of LWC at Borana, with the ultimate objective being to remove the fence between the two properties allowing for free movement of wildlife. If the plan works, it will create the largest conservation area made up of private and community owned land in Kenya and would create 300,000 acres for wildlife.

When Anna Merz first started the sanctuary in 1983, it was a struggle to find a single rhino to initially stock the sanctuary. The population of black rhinos started with an initial translocation of 15 rhinos into the sanctuary in 1984 when it was only 5,000 acres. By 1994, when the sanctuary was expanded to 55,000 acres, 10 births had been recorded. 20 births were recorded between 1993 and April 2002. During the spring of 2002, 4 black rhinos and 4 white rhinos were born bringing the total to 32 black and 33 white. 3 of these calves were born to females that were themselves born within Lewa.

A number of the pioneer adult males were lost in the initial years due to fighting. To improve the sex ratio, 7 males have been moved to other sanctuaries. Peak calving occurred after the 1997 El Nino rains. One hand raised orphaned male was moved to the neighboring community conservation area of Il Ngwesi. There are now 42 black rhinos. The survival rate of calves has improved to 92% since 1998. Lewa continues to restock other locations to maximize the production of rhino from within Lewa. Lewa could not have become one of the most successful rhino sanctuaries in all of Africa without the unending support of AAZK's Bowling For Rhinos.

For additional information see the Lewa website at www.lewa.org

Indonesian Javan and Sumatran Rhino Conservation Program

All BFR monies in excess of the funds provided to Lewa are used to support the Javan and Sumatran rhinos. This program has evolved over the years.

The two kinds of rhinoceros in south east Asia are the most endangered of the five surviving rhino species. There are fewer than 70 Javan rhino - about 50 in Ujung Kulon and another 2-7 in Cat Loc Vietnam. The Sumatran rhino is considered the most critically endangered species of rhino by the IUCN/SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group (AsRSG). Fewer than 300 are estimated to survive worldwide. Although not as rare as the Javan rhino, poaching pressure is more intense on the Sumatran rhino. BFR supports three National Parks in Indonesia which protect the Javan and Sumatran Rhinos. If it had not been for the support from IRF, US Fish and Wildlife Service Tiger and Rhino Conservation Fund, WWF and AAZK over the past 10 years, the Sumatran and Javan rhinos would surely have perished. We must now look to the future to maintain and increase the populations to respectable sizes.

In 1994, BFR initiated its support of these South East Asian rhinos through the Minnesota Zoo and its Adopt a Park Program for Ujung Kulon, home to the main and probably only viable population of Javan rhino on earth. All these funds raised over the amount allocated for Lewa were provided to this program.

Because BFR was so successful and the program wants to help as many rhino species as possible, in 1996 the program expanded to assist Sumatran rhinos as well, through the International Rhino Foundation (IRF). IRF used these funds to support the anti-poaching teams known as Rhino Protection Units (RPUs). The operational cost for each RPU is currently $20,000/year. The RPUs are vital to the survival of Indonesia’s wildlife.

At that time, in 1996, the most endangered population of Sumatran rhino was in Bukit Barisan Selatan (BBS) National Park in Sumatra. Hence, from 1998-2002, all funds raised by BFR in excess of what was needed for Lewa were equally divided between the Minnesota Zoo-Javan Rhino-Ujung Kulon Project and the IRF-Sumatran Rhino-BBS Project.

However, commencing in 2003, the IRF was able to secure a two-year grant from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) administered by Conservation International to completely cover costs of the BBS anti-poaching teams (6 concentrating on rhino and 2 on tiger although all 8 protect both species and other wildlife as well). Hence, IRF requested and AAZK approved that the funds for Sumatran rhino be used for Way Kambas National Park where the 3rd largest population of Sumatran rhino in the world live.

Also in 2003, the Minnesota Zoo Adopt a Park Program concluded that BFR was so successful that not all of the funds being provided for Javan rhino were necessary for this species in Ujung Kulon. However, the Minnesota Zoo is also the Center of the Sumatran Tiger Conservation Program (STCP) that had formed a partnership with the IRF to support the anti-poaching teams in Way Kambas. Consequently, the Minnesota Zoo also requested and AAZK approved that some of the funds it receives from BFR be used to support the anti-poaching teams in Way Kambas.

There is now an Indonesian Rhino Conservation Program (IRCP) supported by IRF and partners like BFR and STCP. The IRCP includes all parks with rhino populations in Indonesia. This program coordinates funding so it is used on the highest priority needs in top priority locations to conserve wildlife. BFR is now part of this program. This allows the funding in any given year that goes through IRF as well as through the Minnesota Zoo to be allocated to these top priority locations. This allows BFR to expand the impact of its funding for maximum benefit of rhinos as well as tigers and other wildlife.

In the future, BFR funds will again be used partially in BBS since the current CEPF grant will conclude in 2005. However, both IRF and the Minnesota Zoo assure AAZK that funds provided by BFR will be used to respond to the most critical needs of Javan and Sumatran rhinos as determined by the IRCP, in consultation with the IRF, the Minnesota Zoo-STCP, and the BFR Coordinator.

Ujung Kulon National Park, Java, Indonesia

Ujung Kulon is a 300 square mile National Park that is home to some of the rarest plants and animals on earth. It is one of the last remaining lowland rainforests in the world with hundreds of endangered plants and animals including the Javan rhino.

Since 1996, AAZK's BFR has supported Ujung Kulon. These funds where used to purchase such items as a well, pump and water tower at the Karangranjang guard post, the completion of a new patrol boat, camera units for photo trapping census of the Javan rhino, installation and maintenance of the cameras, training staff for trapping census and preparation of photo inventory of field data, 32 hand-held radios, radar unit for night patrol boat and trained a "Rhino Patrol Unit" (RPU). These are very intensive, specially trained anti-poaching units of 5 men. These RPUS are the only proven method to effectively conserve these tropical forest rhinos.

1999-2001 funds were used for the operational costs for camera checking for census work on the Javan rhino at $21,000/year and to purchase a much needed high powered patrol boat. The photo-trapping census work individually identified 42 Javan rhinos including 4 calves. There are currently 3 RPUs operating in Ujung Kulon. Future support will train and support the continued use of RPUs to protect wildlife, and pay for maintenance of existing buildings and equipment.

Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia

This Park is a 3,568 square kms protected area on the southwest side of the island of Sumatra. Asian elephant, tiger, clouded leopard, Malayan sun bear, Indian wild dog, and a substantial number of the estimated 300 Sumatran rhinos live within this park. This Park likely has the 2nd largest population of Sumatran rhinos on the planet. They also have the highest plant diversity ever recorded- twice that of the Amazon Rain Forest. Despite this wealth of nature, Indonesia has one of the fastest rates of deforestation in the world and this trend is particularly intense on the island of Sumatra. BFR initiated its support of Sumatran rhinos with support for this park in 1998.

Way Kambas National Park

Way Kambas is a park of approximately 1,200 sqaure kms on the south east side of Sumatra. It likely has the 3rd largest population of Sumatran rhinos in the world and is a crucial nucleus for the survival and recovery of the species. There are also 150-200 wild elephants in this park. Currently, the best use of and greatest need for the BFR funds is to support the anti-poaching teams in Way Kambas. Since 2003, BFR provided funds through IRF and the STCP to support anti-poaching teams in Way Kambas.

For additional information on rhino conservation, see www.rhinos-irf.org or www.5tigers.org.

BFR Tips for Success

• Set a date early so that it can be advertised in as many newsletters, fliers as possible. Info should be placed in zoo newsletters at least 4 times, zoo volunteer newsletters, zoo guild communications, zoo maps or fliers, etc.
• Check with your Chamber of Commerce prior to setting date to find out events that could conflict. Once you choose the date, inform your Chamber of commerce.
• Talk to your zoo volunteers at an organized luncheon to let them know they can join the event or sponsor someone (have your forms ready).
• Put registration fliers in an area where volunteers may see them-in their “check –in” area
• Talk to your Zoo Guild or other organization that helps at the zoo
• Have fliers that you can hand out so they can fill out later
• collect door prizes. Seek the big airline prizes 4-6 months in advance (write thank yous)
• Restaurants are easy to get prizes from. Go in person with letter of donation request in hand.
• send out invites to previous bowlers (addresses listed on sponsor forms from prior year)
• ask Blue Rhino Gas folks in your area to join your event (& possibly sponsor)
• ask Rhino Linings folks in your area to join your event (& possibly sponsor)
• Let people know your event is open to the public
• Seek donations for pizzas and t-shirts
• See if your zoo will offer a Day off work for the team who raises the most $ (ex. Graphics team, Maint. Team, etc)
• Seek help from your zoo’s special events people, graphics, etc. to get the word out.
• circulate the current list of prizes as they come in wherever possible
• INVITE CELEBRITIES to bowl at your event (especially TV/radio- free advertising)
• Post info next to rhino/elephant exhibits about your upcoming event and how to join!
• If you are going for the prize, let potential sponsor know they could help you win the trip!
• Send out letters to friends and family seeking donations.
• If your chapter would like a "Lewa Promo" CD, please contact Helen at lewausa at erols.com
• If your chapter would like "Patrols of Hope-The Last Sumatran Rhinos" CD, please contact Becky at BeckyT at wogilman.com . This is a new DVD with Javan & Sumatran rhino footage.
• There is a multimedia BFR CD for any participating chapter or institution that requests a copy. This CD includes the above videos, BFR powerpoint presentations & slide shows w/ scripts. See www.aazkbfr.org or contact Patty Pearthree at: ppear3 at ppear3.org or 919-678-0449

BFR Fund Raising Guidelines

• It is very important to remember that 100% of all Bowling For Rhinos donations go towards conservation. All donations from donors must be submitted to AAZK Bowling For Rhinos. This means that your organization must cover any expenses for an event. This can be done by charging a fee for bowlers, through silent auctions, door prize raffles, your local organizations funds, etc.
• Events should be held between March 1 and August 1st.
• I send out fliers in AKF requesting info on your upcoming event. This helps me know how many new sponsor sheets you need and when your event date is in case people in your area call me for info.
• If interested in participating, send for an information packet (or see www.aazkbfr.org) and let me know the number of sponsor sheets to send.
• If you have never held an event, see how to hold a BFR event.
• There is a $25 administrative fee to participate which should be made out to "AAZK, Inc." and mailed to Patty prior to obtaining sponsor forms. This fee covers indirect costs incurred by AAZK, Inc. due to BFR ( phone, postage, faxes, bank fees, BFR trip winners tickets). First timers are exempt the first year.
• Call me if the information packet does not answer your questions (919-678-0449)
• Note: There is now a multimedia BFR CD for any participating chapter or institution that requests a copy. This CD includes a BFR slide show with script, a Lewa promo video and an Ujung Kulon video.
• To win the trip to Africa, all money must be sent in to me by September 1st!
• Please try to have all money sent within 30 days of your event or by September 1st. I write this workshop paper in September so if you want to be included in these totals, send in the money.
• If a chapter does not wish to send their checks certified mail, the following is the only way to insure that your check is not cashed by anyone other than AAZK, Inc.! Please write "For Deposit Only" on the back signature area of all checks. This will ensure only AAZK can deposit it instead of just anyone who may intercept it!
• Please make out one check payable to "AAZK, Inc. - Bowling For Rhinos", include a copy of your financial form and a copy of only the high money raiser's sponsor sheets and mail to:

  	Patty Pearthree c/o Bowling For Rhinos
  	318 Montibello Dr. Cary, NC 27513
  	(919) 678-0449     ppear3 at pear3 dot org
  

• Contact your local "Rhino Linings" Company (truck liners) to see if they would be willing to help your event. Items donated in the past were blow up rhinos, give-away items and a truck liner for raffle. You can contact Patty for the local contact nearest you. *It is very important to remember that we advertise 100% of all donations go towards conservation. All donations from donors must be submitted to AAZK Bowling For Rhinos for this to be true. This means that your organization must cover any expenses for this event. This can be done by charging a fee for bowlers, through silent auctions, door prize raffles, your local organizations funds, etc.
• Contact your local Blue Rhino Gas Company to see if they are willing to help your event or participate in your event. See www.bluerhino.com.
• Anyone can join the Bowl-a-thon so don't limit yourselves to only zoo people. However, be sure it is clear that only National AAZK members are allowed to win the trip. If you have a potential winner, ask them to join AAZK.
• No matter how small the chapter is or how few bowlers you have, every dollar helps so don't be afraid to give Bowling For Rhinos a shot!

Previous years' annual reports

Bowling For Rhinos Conference Paper from 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001.