Jungle Fund
Jungle Encounters is dedicated to wildlife conservation and because of this dedication we want to make a direct impact on animals in the wild. That is why we created the Jungle Fund show. This show focuses its attention on teaching people about small wild cats, how they survive in the wild, what they prey on, their conservation issues and current projects to help protect them in the wild.
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| geoffroy's cat | serval | ocelot |
We currently raise funds for three conservation projects in different parts of South America that focus their attention on small cat conservation. The people who run these projects are in the field, working hands on to make a better life for these small wild cats. The Jungle Fund shows goal is to raise awareness about the 22 species of small cats around the world and to collect donations to send to these projects. These donations go directly to research, rescue, rehabilitation and releasing these cats back into the wild where they belong.
THE SHOW:
The show is 1 hour, we bring 1 or 2 hybrid cats (a Savannah and/or a Bengal), a small wildcat and 2-3 other wild animals that would either co-exist or interact with the small cats in the wild and some information people can take with them about the projects we are supporting. We will teach people about each animal we bring, discuss the conservation problems the wildcats face, and introduce everyone to the projects that were established to help save the small wild cats. This show was created to be interesting, informative, fun and with the hopes of raising awareness about small cat conservation. This type of show is not available for all types of events, please call us for details.
CONSERVATION PROJECTS:
1. Choco Rainforest Protection Project - Help save the ocelots, jaguarundis, oncillas, margays and monkeys of South America!
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Margay
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Little Chief the Ocelot
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The Choco Rainforest Protection Project (CRPP) encompasses a group of reserves in Ecuador. The natives have formed an alliance and are dedicated to protecting their prestine rainforest from deforestation due to loggers, squatters, etc. Jungle Encounters has teamed up with their Wildlife Center Director, Tracy Wilson, to raise money to help rescue, rehabilitate and release the native small cats & monkeys back into the wild. The funds we raise from doing our shows will be sent to the reserve to be used to pay for any of the cat and monkey related expenses that will aid in the them being released back into the wild. These expenses include, but aren't limited to their food, bedding, cages, care-taker salary, medicines, formula, etc.
If you would like to make a donation to this fund without having a show, please send a check payable to Earthways Foundation and mail it to us at Jungle Encounters PO Box 108 Uxbridge, MA 01569. We will forward it to Earthways who will assign the money to the Wildlife Center for cat or monkey expenses. If you would like your donation to be tax deductible, please make a note telling us this and attach it to your check. We will send that info along with your money and Earthways will mail you a receipt. (Earthways Foundation is an organization that is tax exempt and who helps fund and collect funds for numerous conservation projects across the world. Jungle Encounters is not a tax exempt company, therefore we are using Earthways so people can make tax deductible donations if they so desire). To find out more about Earthways, log onto their website at www.earthways.org. To find out more about the CRPP log onto www.touchthejungle.org/ReserveHistory.htm.
9/09: Tracy is currently raising money to build a new wildlife center for the animals. All donations will be routed towards this project until it is complete. Once the building is done, they will be well-equipt to handle the volume of injured animals that is coming in.
By donating to this project, you will make a difference in these wonderful animals wild lives!
Donate Using Paypal Here
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Andean Mountain Cat
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Jim and Debi
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The Andean Mountain Cat is believed to live in the high elevations of the Andean Mountains of Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. Jungle Encounters has teamed up with field researcher, Jim Sanderson of Small Cat Conservation Alliance (SCCA). Jim has dedicated his life to doing field research on small wild cats so we can have a better understanding of them. This enables us to make educated decisions on how to protect the cats, their habitat and how to make a better life for them. Donations to this fund will go directly towards Jim's current research project in the Andean Mountains to help save this cat.
7/09: Jim has obtained some land in Andean Cat territory and he is currently setting up a monitoring center so he can do more field research on this species. This is very exciting news and he is focusing a lot of attention on getting this facility up and running.
To find out more about SCCA, Jim and his projects, log onto www.smallcats.org
By donating to this project, you will make a difference in the Andean Mountain Cats wild lives!
3. The Guigna Project - help save the Guigna of Chile!
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| These beautiful Guigna pictures are the | property of Fernando Vidal at | Fauna Andina in Chile |
The Guigna is the smallest wild cat of the Americas. It lives in Chile and on the Chiloe Island. Jim has 3 on-going projects to help save the Guigna. Any donations we send to this project will go towards monitoring the Guigna in two locations (camera traps, observations in the wild, etc) and towards spreading awareness about this cat. A man by the name of Fernando lives in Guigna territory and is the only person believed to have Guignas in captivity. He works with the local government and rescues Guignas that have been poached or hurt. He now has an unreleasable breeding group of Guigna. The plan for this project is to breed them and use the hand raised Guigna as Ambassadors to teach the locals about them. Once the native people are familiar with them and understand their critical status in the wild, they will hopefully try to help them.
7/09 update: we recently obtained a Geoffroy's Cat which is thought to be the closest relative to the Guigna. We will be using this new cat, Spirit, in our Jungle Fund shows to raise awareness and funds for the Guigna.
By donating to this project, you will make a difference in the guigna cats wild lives!
Donate Using Paypal Here
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The Jungle Fund is dedicated to helping conserve the small wild cats of the world by teaching the public to respect and love these animals through our educational outreach programs. We challenge you, the public, to help us help wildlife.
FACT: We are losing up to a dozen plant and animal species every day due mainly to pollution, ignorance and habitat destruction.
PROBLEM: Most zoos do not have small wild cats to display for people to see and learn about. Most people aren't aware that there are 22 known species of small wild cats in the world and most of them are the same size as our domestic house cats or smaller.
SOLUTION: Jungle Encounters has geared it's focus to help support and save these precious small cats by educating the public about them in hopes to spread awareness and respect for these animals. Once people learn about them, they are interested in learning about their critical conservation issues and will want to help them. This isn't a total solution to the conservation problem, but by teaming up with other wildlife conservationists interested in the same species, we will make a big difference. You too can make a difference by being concerned and contributing your time or funds to help us with this worthy cause. Stay informed of conservation issues and efforts and tell others you know about them.
YOU CAN ALSO GO GREEN:
- recycle and conserve electricity & water
- refinish old wood furniture, rather than buying new
- don't waste paper
- don't use aerosol sprays
- don't litter
- change your old light bulbs to the new environmental-friendly bulbs
- buy products and food made and grown in THIS country
- don't use any products that contain Palm Oil (palm oil plantations are destroying our natural habitat)
CONSERVATION ISSUES:
1. Habitat Destruction
Around 1900 the human population was 1.5 billion.
In 2006, the human population is about 6.5 billion.
The forests that once covered much of the earth are disappearing at an alarming rate. We have already cut down over half of the forests in the world. Wild animals are losing their habitat at an unbearable rate. Those that aren't losing their habitat yet are being exposed to pollution caused by humans and are being illegally poached.
Remember, furniture and paper both come from trees. Refinish old beat up furniture rather than buying new; recycle paper and use it wisely. These are 2 easy things all of us can do and they make a direct impact on the # of trees loggers cut down from rainforests. Each tree can house many species of wildlife from insects to birds to plants to mammals.
Donations to these funds don't have to be large. Small donations are just as important as large ones.