March 10, 2005
Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you for supporting the 2005 "Bowling For Rhinos" fund raiser. The American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) has now raised over $2.1 million since 1990. 100% of your contribution continues to be sent directly to Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (LWC) in Kenya, Ujung Kulon National Park in Java, Indonesia and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Kenya's black rhino population went from 20,000 in the mid 1970's to a few hundred by 1986. Conservation organizations went to work and today there are over 1,000. LWC has 6 % of the National population of black rhino and 25 % of the world's population of Grevy's zebra. Wildlife thrive in this safe haven and LWC continues to be a model for conservation worldwide.

Ujung Kulon and Bukit Barisan in Indonesia continue to train Rhino Patrol Units (anti-poaching teams) and beef up security. Luckily, these parks were not affected by the Tsunami. It was found that the animals seemed to sense the danger and fled to higher ground. This kind of sense never ceases to amaze us.

In the 1980's, there were still about 1,000 Sumatran rhinos. By 1995, there were only 300 left. Over the past 8 years, with the RPUs in place, this number has remained stable. The goal now is to curtail poaching and habitat destruction and then allow the populations to rebound to viable size. If we are successful in conserving the rhino's ecosystem, we can at the same time save some of the most biologically important places on earth and greatly improve the odds for countless other species struggling to survive in the wild.

Without safe havens such as Lewa, Ujung Kulon and Bukit Barisan, many of these animals would surely perish. The success of these areas in conservation of wildlife is largely due to your generous support. I hope you will feel proud in knowing that you have helped save wildlife worldwide. Your support truly does make a significant difference.

Patty Pearthree
318 Montibello Dr.
Cary, NC 27513

 
Sincerely,

Patty Pearthree
National Bowling For Rhinos Coordinator