Archive for the ‘big game’ Category
The indiscriminate poaching of wildlife species is a crime around the world. Too often the name of “hunter” is attached to the abhorrent acts of poaching. As ardenthunter-conservationists this could not be further from the truth. In fact, as a group,hunters help pave the way for responsible wildlife management by paying their way and adhering to game regulations. Whether it is the quail hunter in Texas or the Cape buffalo hunter in Africa, hunters shoulder a significant amount of the funding needed to help manage healthy wildlife populations.
Each year, SCI Foundation provides additional funding and expertise to help combat corruption and poaching–especially in Africa. Yet, much remains to be done to make a larger positive impact and see the trend reversed. Collaboration and sharing resources is critical to improve the plight of many species.
Safari Club International Foundation (SCI Foundation) has….
- Awarded multiple grants to land conservancies in Southern Africa that serve as important reserves for rhinoceros including Savé Valley (Lowveld) Conservancy and Bubye Valley Conservancy.
- Provided over $80,000 over the last several years to fund rangers, aircraft, trail cameras, telemetry equipment and other tools to combat the increase in poaching in Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
- Allocated $25,000 to Chiredzi River Conservancy to promote its anti-poaching activities through the deployment of Game Scouts (anti-poaching rangers) that patrol the conservancy.
- Empowered the Friedkin Conservation Fund (Tanzania) to conduct surveillance flights with microlight aircraft ($25,000). The microlight covers more than 9 million acres of protected areas.
- Partnered with The WILD Foundation since 2011 to fight rhino poaching in South Africa through the Rhino Informant Incentive Fund (RIIF). $5,000 was designated as the start-up capital for the program.
- Worked with StealthCam and Boyt Harness Company to deliver 30 trail cameras to the Tanzanian Government for protected area surveillance.
SCI Foundation is currently investigating new partnerships to bring advanced drone technology to track illegal activity in Africa and employ scent-detection dogs in the apprehension of illegal wildlife traffickers smuggling items like ivory and horn. Furthermore, collaboration is needed to break down the demand for illicit wildlife parts through public education and outreach.
Please consider making a contribution to SCI Foundation so that anti-poaching initiatives can be bolstered to combat poachers throughout the continent. Help our organization leverage your dollars for larger grants to combat poaching in Africa.
The Safari Club International Foundation (SCIF) and partners are working to advance sound, science-based management of wildlife resources worldwide. SCI Foundation’s Conservation Committee invites you to attend our wildlife conservation-related seminars at the 2013 Safari Club International Convention featuring North American, African and Asian species. Learn about new ways international hunters are contributing to science-based conservation worldwide. Check out the topics below, spread the word and then drop by and join the discussion! See you in Reno!
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August 13, 2012 – The Embassy of Botswana hosted Safari Club International Foundation (SCI Foundation) and the International Conservation Caucus Foundation (ICCF) for a reception of international Ambassadors and conservationists. The event highlighted the importance of the upcoming African Wildlife Consultative Forum (AWCF) to be hosted in Botswana September 16th through 21st. AWCF brings together the most influential countries in sub-Saharan Africa for a week-long forum discussing wide ranging wildlife management, conservation, and sustainable-use priorities. AWCF provides the only annual opportunity for each country to compare common approaches to the future management of their wildlife resources. SCI Foundation is proud to be the prime catalyst and support base for this invaluable forum to ensure that sustainable use conservation and hunting remain a management priority within each country. The Honorable Ms. Tebelelo Seretse, Ambassador of Botswana, expressed her gratitude to both SCI Foundation and ICCF for the important roles they play in education of broader audiences on all wildlife conservation challenges. SCI Foundation President Joe Hosmer addressed the nearly 100 attendees highlighting the constant demand for conservation incentives to spur economic stability, and SCI Foundation’s anti-poaching projects in Tanzania. SCI Foundation has worked with regional partners to who operate two microlight aircraft to patrol millions of acres to reduce wildlife poaching; it has been very successful. SCI Foundation presented a framed giclee of two battling elephants by acclaimed wildlife artist Brian Jarvi to Ambassador Seretse.
“We would like to thank the Embassy for hosting us tonight and, more importantly, to thank Botswana for hosting the 2012 African Wildlife Consultative Forum. We look forward to Botswana’s continued involvement with AWCF and to continued collaborations on wildlife conservation projects between SCI Foundation and all the nations of Southern Africa,” concluded Hosmer.
To learn more about the African Wildlife Consultative Forum please visit SCI Foundation’s website:http://www.safariclubfoundation.org/content/index.cfm?action=view&content_id=2380.
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All Media: For Immediate Release
SCI Foundation Contributes $537,590 To Worldwide Wildlife Conservation Projects Over Last 6 Months
Washington, DC – Safari Club International Foundation (SCI Foundation) announced today that it has contributed $537,590 in the past six months to fund worldwide wildlife conservation projects. SCI Foundation strategically focuses funding towards research and management of large predators and their prey, including game species, principally throughout North America, Asia, and Southern Africa.
“The research programs selected by SCI Foundation’s professional biologists inform wildlife managers and policy makers on critical wildlife management needs worldwide,” said SCI Foundation President Joe Hosmer. “SCI Foundation strives to ensure management decisions are based on the best available science.”
SCI Foundation donated $350,000 to fund multiple predator/prey projects in the U.S. and Canada. Conservation projects include Predator/Prey studies observing rates of white-tailed deer fawn survival in Michigan and Wisconsin, elk survival in Montana, and caribou survival in Newfoundland. The results of these projects will help properly manage both predators and prey in systems where both exist. Donations were also made to wildlife population research and enhancement programs including mule deer in the Eastern Mojave Desert, brown bears on Kodiak Island, black bears in Missouri, and moose in Alaska, among others.
The most recent project is a partnership with Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Kenai Moose Project. SCI Foundation donated $20,000 to learn productivity and seasonal mortality of moose.
In multiple African nations, SCI Foundation has given over $123,000 to wildlife conservation and human-wildlife conflict programs. Most recently, SCI Foundation donated $30,000 for the upcoming African Wildlife Consultative Forum, which will be held in Botswana.
SCI Foundation also continues to fund lion research in Zambia to improve the accuracy of aging lions in their natural environment. Being able to accurately age lions in the field will assist range states develop appropriate lion harvest regulations to ensure sustainability.
“Throughout the year, SCI Foundation contributes over one million dollars to wildlife research, management, and anti-poaching programs. As an international organization, SCI Foundation continues to increase our financial impact for sustainable-use conservation and we hope more organizations can follow our lead,” concluded Hosmer.
Below is a partial list of contributions to wildlife species made over the last 6 months:
Lion (Southern Africa) — $30,000
Elephant (Zimbabwe) — $25,200
Leopard (Zimbabwe, Namibia) — $18,000
Wildlife Genetics (Africa) — $20,000
Brown Bear (Alaska) — $50,000
Black Bear (Missouri) — $25,000
Elk (Montana. & Ontario)–$69,800
White-tailed deer (Mich. & Wisc.)–$75,000
Mule Deer (Calif. & Colorado)–$40,880
Moose (Alaska) –$33,500
Caribou (Newfoundland) — $8,550
Bighorn Sheep (Mont. & Wyo.) — $31,500
Dall Sheep (Alaska) — $5,000
Predator ID Manual (Intl) — $10,000
Conservation Matching Grants — $8,000
African Wildlife Forum — $30,000
Contact:
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The SCI Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization that funds and manages worldwide programs dedicated to wildlife conservation, outdoor education and humanitarian services, including such programs as Sportsmen Against Hunger, Sensory Safari, Safari Care, Disabled Hunter, the American Wilderness Leadership School, Becoming an Outdoors Woman & More and Youth Education Seminars (YES) Outdoors. Call 877-877-3265 or visit www.sci-foundation.org for more information.
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White-Tailed Deer Predator / Prey Study
For Immediate Release: May 23, 2012
Safari Club International Foundation (SCI Foundation) proudly announced today that it made a donation of $25,000 to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to conduct a white-tailed deer predation study. The SCI Foundation and Wisconsin DNR Predator / Prey study will examine challenges wildlife managers face in finding a balance between predator and prey populations.
“We are proud to partner with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources,” said SCI Foundation President Joseph Hosmer. “State agencies provide the most critical on-the-ground science to improve game management in the United States. By working collaboratively with state agencies we will be building a long term partnership to keep wildlife populations sustainable for future generations of sportsmen and women.”
“This generous donation from the Safari Club International Foundation will be used for field research to assess causes and rates of fawn and adult buck mortality in Wisconsin’s white-tailed deer herd,” said Dr. Karl Martin, Chief Wildlife and Forestry Research Section. “Partnerships like these are the key component to the success of large-scale field research projects.”
The Wisconsin predator / prey study will evaluate the impact of black bear, coyote, wolf, and bobcat populations on white-tailed deer survival and recruitment where fawn survival is low. The outcome of this study will provide decision makers with important science-based evidence to support practical management options for both predators and prey species.
“Collaborative partnerships in the name of conservation help the SCI Foundation ensure a larger impact by making the money spent go further in support of the mission,” concluded Hosmer.
- SCIF –
Safari Club International Foundation (SCIF) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that funds and manages worldwide programs dedicated to wildlife conservation, outdoor education, and humanitarian services. Since 2000, SCIF has provided $47 million to these causes around the world. Visit www.safariclubfoundation.org for more information.
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The Greatest Wildlife Recovery Story Ever Told:
How Conservation is Creating Prosperity and Stability in Rural Namibia
U.S. Congressional Briefing
Featuring Digu Naobeb. CEO of the Namibian Tourism Board, and speakers from WWF and the Safari Club International Foundation
Tuesday, February 28, 2012 – 10:00 am -11:00 am
Room H-137
U.S. Capitol Building
Speech, as it was prepared. It was however presented with several tangents and twists…
Joe
Good morning, my name is Joe Hosmer, and I am delighted to speak on behalf of the hunter-conservationist community today. I serve as the president of Safari Club International Foundation (SCIF) and am a lifelong hunter. I am proud to be able to join the Honorable Minister and Mr. Dillon to share the story of Namibian wildlife recovery and how international hunting has been central to developing sustainable income for rural communities. SCIF commends the success of wildlife management programs in Namibia, and we are working to apply them to other countries that are struggling to modernize their own wildlife conservation policies.
First, I would like to tell you a little bit about our Foundation. Safari Club International Foundation is the charitable arm of Safari Club International. SCIF’s missions include promoting and funding wildlife conservation, outdoor education, and humanitarian services. Currently, we have over 60 ongoing conservation research projects. Over the past decade, SCIF has contributed over $50 million to advance global wildlife conservation. SCIF has worked tirelessly to increase wildlife management capabilities throughout Southern and Eastern Africa through strategic partnerships with African nations and conservation NGOs. In Namibia, for instance, SCIF is working with the government to obtain the best science available regarding the population status of leopards.
Safari Club International Foundation has also awarded multiple grants to land conservancies in Southern Africa that serve as important reserves for black rhinoceros and other wildlife. Since 2008, an increase in rhino poaching has been reported in southern Africa and SCIF has responded by providing over $80,000 to fund rangers, aircraft, trail cameras, telemetry equipment and other tools to combat the increase in poaching. Collaborative efforts among conservation organizations and the hunting industry are using hunter-generated revenue to successfully prevent poaching. Ensuring that animals harvested lawfully do not enter the illegal trade and tarnish the reputation of legitimate conservationists is a major consideration of SCIF. Poachers and smugglers should not benefit from the dedicated work of conservationists by skimming the gains made after decades of investment in conservation.
The largest of SCIF’s programs in Africa is the African Wildlife Consultative Forum (AWCF). SCIF hopes that this cooperative forum will help spread the Namibian successes in wildlife conservation to the rest of Africa. AWCF is an annual forum that convenes delegates from most of the sub-Saharan African governments for a week-long discussion on wildlife management, conservation, and hunting priorities. The forum provides an opportunity for these countries to come together to compare problems and develop common approaches to future management of their wildlife resources. Over fifty participants attended the 2011 AWCF in Swaziland. Contributors included wildlife professionals, regulatory officials, and representatives of the hunting industry. By providing the forum for wildlife professionals across Africa to discuss successful management approaches SCIF believes that best practices can be shared amongst partners and the success of sustainable-use hunting will spread across Africa.
Over the past decade, the AWCF annual meetings have included major themes in African wildlife management. Human-wildlife conflict, wildlife population management, predator-prey interactions, habitat use, hunting regulations, and anti-poaching campaigns have all been central to the Forum. Key topics at the most recent meeting included rhinoceros conservation, leopard population status, lion management. Attendees also heard reports on current policies and regulations for each country present.
One of the most critical issues addressed in the 2011 AWCF was the landmark agreement to organize and support the collection of current lion census data from all of the range state nations. The attending government entities agreed to fully cooperate to address the ambitious deadlines set for the CITES Periodic Review of the African lion. The Periodic Review will use the best science available to determine if lions are appropriately listed in the CITES Appendices.
Enhancing wildlife management in Africa is only part of the solution, and cannot succeed in a vacuum. The success of the sustainable wildlife conservation program hinges on the dedicated funding that international hunters provide to these communities. Hunting has funded the enhancement of many species around the world, including a long list we are all fond of here in North America (elk, white-tailed deer, wood duck, wild turkey, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, bison and more). It is the license fees and taxes on hunting gear that fund conservation in the United States, and international hunters provide the same steady revenue stream to African communities.
International hunting has been one of the main economic engines in rural communities. In many countries of southern Africa, agrarian or pastoral economies cannot flourish, due to limited land suitable for agriculture or grazing. In these areas, regulated hunting has been a consistent form of revenue for local communities. To take better advantage of sustainable wildlife use, many governments have begun Community Based Natural Resources Programs. These programs, in essence, devolve power from the central government so that locally created community councils can regulate and manage wildlife in their areas. Their mission is to utilize wildlife so that it remains a sustainable resource.
These communal programs have been successful because they effectively create a financial incentive for the rural communities to actively conserve wildlife. Revenue retention rules ensure that money generated from sport hunting ends up in the hands of indigenous people. In the case of international hunting in southern Africa, communities in the most rural areas of countries reap the benefit of conserving wildlife through Community Based Natural Resource Programs.
Creating this incentive to coexist with wildlife has been a central reason why so many populations of species are now thriving. The growing population of white rhino has been one of the most notable success stories. Namibia has been the leader in this area with I believe zero rhino poaching in the last two years. It is not terribly surprising that in countries like Kenya, where wildlife utilization by indigenous people is extremely limited and where hunting does not exist, wildlife population levels are now low and in continuous decline. Hunting was banned in Kenya in1977 and this ban has resulted in an accelerated loss of wildlife due to the removal of incentives for conservation (Baker 1997; Lewis & Jackson 2005).
SCIF’s sister organization, Safari Club International (SCI) recently held its annual Hunter’s Convention where over 2,200 outfitters came together and raised $16 million dollars, a substantial portion of which will contribute to international wildlife conservation. Many of these outfitters booked trips to Africa that will support these community based conservation programs, build value into these wildlife and support these rural economies.
I would like to leave you with just a few thoughts about how you can help. One way is to continue to fund programs such as Namibia’s LIFE program at high levels moving forward. The LIFE program is funded by USAID and has been central to building community based natural resource management in Namibia. Programs that promote sustainable-use conservation such as the LIFE program are not just aid, but an investment that helps build a self-sustaining rural economy while creating community incentives to protect these treasured species.
There Is yet another key component to the success of sustainable-use conservation where more work is needed — reducing regulatory burdens. Often times international hunters are faced with obstacles at the U.S. border. Sometimes it is a problem with bringing a favorite hunting rifle with them on their hunt. More frequently, it is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stopping a hunter from bring their legally harvested animal back in to the U.S. These barriers discourage hunters from travelling, reduce the value of overseas wildlife and take much needed dollars out of rural African communities. It is vital that the United State modernize the border process for wildlife so that millions of dollars of African conservation dollars are not lost because of over-zealous wildlife inspectors and byzantine regulations. Over the 20th Century, hunters brought back the great herds of the United States through their funding of conservation. All we ask is that the U.S. government helps hunters do the same in Africa.
Thank You.
Taking Action Against Rhino Poaching: The Safari Club International Foundation
by OUTDOOR HUB REPORTERS on FEBRUARY 24, 2012
submitted by: AGNIESZKA SPIESZNY - Original post.
It’s become a hot-button issue since the price of rhinoceros horn increased. Poachers are scrambling to deliver the valuable product where demand is high. The rhino was a nearly extinct species in Africa one century ago, but through intense conservation efforts its population flourished.
Now in 2012, the rhinoceros has been hunted to extinction in Vietnam and now buyers are paying a high price for the horn that they believe cures cancer. It is estimated that there is one rhino killed for its horn every 18 hours in Africa. Last year, there were almost 450 rhinos killed. That number has skyrocketed considering that there were only about 15 rhinos killed per year in previous years when the price of the horn was lower.
Safari Club International Foundation President Joe Hosmer vehemently opposes the poaching. “I believe it to be absolutely horrendous,” Hosmer said. The SCI Foundation (SCIF) is battling the issue throughout the entire African continent at the governmental level.
SCIF has an office in Pretoria, South Africa where they are able to monitor all rhino activity on a routine basis. Their main objective is to make sure each country involved knows what other countries are doing. “If there are known poachers in an area we make sure to send out a warning.”
Current operations
In partnership with the Friedkin Conservation Fund, SCIF has acquired a micro-light (or ultra-light) hang-glider which runs daily patrols over thousands of acres of rhino habitat. If suspicious activity is spotted, the pilot will get GPS coordinates of the location and then a ground crew that is associated with the government will go in to investigate.
So far, with the help of SCIF, Swaziland tells one of the most successful anti-poaching stories. The country has only had three rhinos poached, but in turn has shot three poachers who opened fire on rangers who caught the three men.
Hosmer said there have been plenty more poachers already stopped, although efforts are far from over. Facilities in Zimbabwe continue to monitor a number of rhinoceros that were moved from a park to a confined area where they are physically guarded until the issue is resolved.
The issue is taken on one day at a time. Just recently rhino poaching received more national attention through a report on NBC’s “Rock Center with Brian Williams”. Below is a clip of the segment. A link to all the segments is available on Hosmer’s blog.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640
Last night, the TV show “Rock Center with Brian Williams” on NBC aired a segment on rhino poaching in South Africa. Some of the shocking statics highlighted that last year almost 450 rhinos were illegally killed in South Africa for their horns. And so far this year South Africa is losing a rhino a day – one poached every 18 hours!
The segment showed several ways people were trying to individually combat the war on illegal wildlife trade. Ranging from using a chainsaw to cut off the horn (which does not harm the animal) to darting and inserting a microchip for tracking the animal and would potentially track the horn if it were ever removed. DNA samples were collected while the rhinos were under sedation which is being stored in Pretoria. These DNA banks are being used to match confiscated horns with poached carcasses in order to make arrests.
Watch the “Rock Center” video segments:
The conservation of rhino in South Africa is at the root of The WILD Foundation’s long history. The founder and wilderness champion, Ian Player of South Africa, was the initiator and team leader of an innovative project ‘Operation Rhino’. In the 1960s, the program established breeding colonies of white rhinoceros at zoos and protected game reserves in order to assure the survival as a species. In addition he established a successful anti-poaching network in South African game reserves which resulted in an impressive reduction in poaching. Fifty years later, The WILD Foundation is still at the forefront of conservation efforts in Africa.
An ongoing project is the Rhino Informant Incentive Fund. Through a partnership with Safari Club International Foundation and the Magqubu Ntomebla Foundation, in 2010 we established an expert team of informants with experience in intelligence gathering, the law, and forensics. The goal of the informants is to collect information to reduce the threat to the rhinos by better deterring and detaining poachers. We had good success thus far.
>>Read more about the Forever Wild Rhino Protection Initiative
>>Donate to rhino conservation and anti-poaching efforts
Last night, the TV show “Rock Center with Brian Williams” on NBC aired a segment on rhino poaching in South Africa. Some of the shocking statics highlighted that last year almost 450 rhinos were illegally killed in South Africa for their horns. And so far this year South Africa is losing a rhino a day – one poached every 18 hours!
The segment showed several ways people were trying to individually combat the war on illegal wildlife trade. Ranging from using a chainsaw to cut off the horn (which does not harm the animal) to darting and inserting a microchip for tracking the animal and would potentially track the horn if it were ever removed. DNA samples were collected while the rhinos were under sedation which is being stored in Pretoria. These DNA banks are being used to match confiscated horns with poached carcasses in order to make arrests.
Watch the “Rock Center” video segments:
The conservation of rhino in South Africa is at the root of The WILD Foundation’s long history. The founder and wilderness champion, Ian Player of South Africa, was the initiator and team leader of an innovative project ‘Operation Rhino’. In the 1960s, the program established breeding colonies of white rhinoceros at zoos and protected game reserves in order to assure the survival as a species. In addition he established a successful anti-poaching network in South African game reserves which resulted in an impressive reduction in poaching. Fifty years later, The WILD Foundation is still at the forefront of conservation efforts in Africa.
An ongoing project is the Rhino Informant Incentive Fund. Through a partnership with Safari Club International Foundation and the Magqubu Ntomebla Foundation, in 2010 we established an expert team of informants with experience in intelligence gathering, the law, and forensics. The goal of the informants is to collect information to reduce the threat to the rhinos by better deterring and detaining poachers. We had good success thus far.
>>Read more about the Forever Wild Rhino Protection Initiative
>>Donate to rhino conservation and anti-poaching efforts
All the same, the bones of the “Centaur of Tymfi” stands proudly on display at Tucson’s International Wildlife Museum in a just-opened exhibit. Nearby is the skull of a “griffin,” a legendary flying lion with an eagle’s skull, and the noggin of a “cyclops,” the one-eyed giant of Greek myth. Taking center stage is the centaur, designed by sculptor and zoologist Bill Willers of the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh.
Entitled “Mythological Wildlife,” the exhibit aims to make folks think about how we know what is real, says museum director Richard White. A paleontologist, White says the exhibit also looks at how folklore might hold a few hidden scientific stories.
“Once upon a time, mythology was science,” White says, accepted as part of the natural history world as perceived by the ancients. The ancient Greek poet, Hesiod, wrote about centaurs around 700 BC. Herodotus, “The Father of Historians,” wrote about griffinsaround 500 B.C. “It’s legitimate for museums to display mythological creatures to make people question what is real and what is science today.”
A shadowy corner of scholarship called “cryptozoology,” filled with folks looking for Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster, has put these sort of questions into disrepute. But scholars such as Stanford University’s Adrienne Mayor, author of The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times, have opened wide questions about what folklore has to offer science today.
For the exhibit, for example, the “cyclops” skull on display takes its cue from the suggestion that the skull of a prehistoric elephant called a mastodon, tipped on its side, might have resembled the skull of a one-eyed giant to the ancients, including a Roman emperor who perhaps kept a mastodon skull on display. A horn-faced dinosaur called Protoceratops, may have partly inspired the griffin.
“Someone saw a man on a horseback perhaps, and couldn’t explain it,” White says. “To him, the hypothesis was that it was a centaur. Now we know better. But there are still many things we struggle to explain, even today.”
Looking at the scientific origins of legends isn’t a new idea, notes art professor Beauvais Lyons of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, who points out that New York’s American Museum of Natural History ran a “Mythic Creatures” exhibit so popular it was extended from 2006 until 2008. And the renowned Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles has for decades blended real natural science with flights of biographical fantasy.
Lyons heads the “Hokes Archives” (as in hoax) at his university, “devoted to the fabrication and documentation of rare and unusual cultural artifacts.” The university brought “The Centaur of Volos,” created by Willers in 1980, to the university’s John C. Hodges Library. Instead of a standing centaur, the Volos display is of a centaur half-excavated from the ground in classic archaeological museum fashion.
“I am excited that Bill Willers has extended his investigations of centaur anatomy with his new upright work now in Tucson,” Lyons says. That centaur skeleton, the Centaur of Tymfi, in contrast, stands upright, the bones of a man seemingly jointed perfectly to a horse. Tymfi (TIM-fee) is the mountainous Greek village, a plaque carefully explains, where the centaur was found intact in the far recesses of a cave.
” There is an unconscious impulse to clothe bones in flesh when we first see them,” Willers says, explaining his centaur creation. With the Tymfi centaur, the plaque also offers visitors a written backstory of the legend, pure hokum of course, meant to extend the duration of time before disbelief takes over again. “I want to trigger that belief and extend it, to trigger a feeling of wonder that connects people to the natural world, to see a person like themselves as a wild animal,” says Willers.
The International Wildlife Museum is a bit unusual as well, White notes. Supported by the Safari Club International Foundation, its funding ultimately draws from hunters interested in animal conservation, and contains displays of wild animals (real ones) in most of its exhibits.
“I’m not worried about kids seeing the centaur and drawing the wrong conclusion. They have very strong senses of what is real and what is fantasy,” White says. “I’m a little worried about their parents,” he jokes.
No one is hunting for centaurs these days, of course, but science remains on the trail of all sorts of mysteries. People centuries from now will doubtless find some of those ideas credulous as well.
For now, anyone hoping to see a centaur might want to stop by Tucson sometime in the next two years, while it is on display at the museum. “After that, I’m hoping to find the centaur a good home,” Willers says, perhaps with a collector or museum. “After all, I have some ideas for other skeletons that I would like to start on.”
By Dan Vergano, USA TODAY
