Grant Awards Announced

The Clouded Leopard Project and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium just announced the recipients of their Conservation Fund grants. Funds allocated through these grants are provided through a fundraising partnership of the Point Defiance Zoo Society, the Point Defiance Chapter of the American Association of ZooKeepers, and the Clouded Leopard Project. The CLP raises money on Zoo grounds for its conservation efforts through a visitor donation station and sales of clouded leopard merchandise in the Zoo gift shop. All funds raised on Zoo grounds become part of the PDZA Conservation Fund, reserved in a fund dedicated to supporting clouded leopard conservation efforts. (CLP also raises funds independently of the Zoo and allocates those monies separately.)

This year's clouded leopard grant funds were awarded to:

Andreas Wilting, Consequences of different forest management strategies for clouded leopards and other felids and viverrids in Sabah, Malaysia. We have supported Andreas for the last two years. You can read about his project on the Conservation and Research section of the website.

Andrew Hearn and Joanna Ross, Bornean Wild Cat and Clouded Leopard Project. This is a new project currently underway that we are supporting for the first time. Look for more information on the project coming soon, including some exciting news!

Anthony Giordano, Effects of severe deforestation and habitat fragmentation on clouded leopard status. This project is still in the planning stages. We hope to provide more information in the future.

Bhupendra Prasad Yadav, The status survey of clouded leopard in Langtang National Park, Nepal. This is a new project in a region not yet supported by the CLP.

PeunPa Community Outreach, Khao Yai National Park, Thailand. This is the third year we will be supporting the community outreach efforts here. They use materials provided by the CLP and will be distributing our clouded leopard storybook when it is complete.

We are very grateful for Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium's continuing commitment to and support of clouded leopard conservation efforts and congratulate all these worthy recipients. We look forward to sharing updates on their work in the future.