If you live in the Tampa area and you love animals as much as we do, your support of AAZK’s Bowling For Rhinos program can make a difference in worldwide conservation. Bowling for Rhinos is a family friendly event that is organized by your local zookeepers.
24th ANNUAL BOWLING FOR RHINOS FUNDRAISER
WHEN: May 31, 2013
WHERE: PinChasers (4847 N. Armenia Ave., Tampa, FL), 6:00 p.m.
About Bowling for Rhinos:
- The American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) sponsors an annual fundraiser called “Bowling For Rhinos” (BFR). Nationally, we have raised $4 million since 1990 to support three conservation projects. BFR funds support Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya, Ujung Kulon National Park in Java, Indonesia and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park and Way Kambas in Sumatra.
- These sanctuaries not only save rhinos but also these entire ecosystems! 100 percent of all funds raised goes directly into conservation projects. These funds help to fence in the parks, purchase planes and off road vehicles to curtail poaching, move rhinos into the sanctuaries, purchase motion sensing cameras for censuring, and pay salaries for anti-poaching security guards.
- More than 65 AAZK chapters participate throughout the US and Canada raising over $300,000 annually. Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay AAZK Chapter’s BFR was a huge success last year because of the zoo keepers and the communities’ commitment to conserving rhinos and their habitat. At the 2011 Bowling for Rhinos we raised $5,000, which brings our total funds raised to date to $49,843.
Join Busch Gardens Animal Keepers as they Bowl for Rhinos
Why Save the Rhinos?
- Rhinos are only endangered because of illegal poaching for their horns! Rhinos have lived on earth for over 50 million years but whether they survive even 50 more years is open to speculation.
- Only 5 species of rhino exist today when once there were over 100 species. Four of the five species are endangered; the Black, the Greater One-horned, the Sumatran and the Javan. Only the white rhino with a population of 20,150 has been moved off the Endangered Species List and onto the Threatened List. In 1960, 60,000 black rhinos roamed Africa.
- Today only 4,860 remain in isolated populations. On the Asian continent, the Greater One-horned rhino population remains at 2,850.
- The Sumatran numbers are 200 and the Javan numbers are approximately 47 individuals left. Rhinos need our help! As of May 2012, 210 rhinos have been poached. Experts predict close to 600 rhinos will be poached this year!
For more information on this event, please visit the Tampa Bay AAZK Chapter’s website
Please watch our Bowling for Rhino’s video created by Jennifer MacNaughton, our very own Tampa Bay AAZK Chapter member!
Photos and story by BGT team members Sara Wunder and Jennifer McNaughton
