SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Grant $700,000 to Help Protect At-Risk Animals

One of the Fund's 2009 grant recipients, Save the Elephants, is working to protect the Earth's largest land animal, using technology in unexpected and effective ways to reduce conflicts with humans.

"Rising human populations and expanding agriculture often are in conflict with elephants," said Iain Douglass-Hamilton, founder of Save the Elephants. "It is essential to find new ways of lowering the strife. Save the Elephants, with support from SeaWorld and Busch Gardens, has a highly innovative project that sends out an alarm every time a tagged elephant approaches a virtual fence line protecting farmers' crops. This is done when a text message is sent straight from the elephant's collar onto the project's cell phones. SeaWorld and Busch Gardens' support has been vital in developing the application of this high-tech conservation approach.