Posts Tagged ‘conservation’

Exotics Find a Home in Ohio

Land that was once used for mining has been converted into a 10,000 acre sanctuary for some of the world’s endangered animals, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

This wildlife preserve called The Wilds is located in Cumberland, Ohio, on land that was previously used for strip mining. The property was donated in 1986 by American Electric Power Company and then went through years of planning and conversion. The park has been open since the mid-1990s but has seen great expansion since then.

Today, The Wilds is home to some of the world’s most endangered species including, Przewalski’s wild horses, Pere David’s deer (which are extinct in the wild), Grevy’s zebras, Persian onagers, greater one-horned rhinos and Bactrian camels.

“I’d never seen anything quite like The Wilds,” director of animal management, Dan Beetem, told the news provider. “I told my wife she had to see it to really comprehend its scope.”

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EWA Continues Conservation Efforts

With a membership of 3700, the Exotic Wildlife Association (EWA), headquartered in Ingram, Texas,  is dedicated to preserving animal-owner rights and conservation.  One of the many ways the EWA is putting “mission” to practice is in the form of repatriation, or reintroduction, of several exotics back to Africa.  Working hand-in-hand with the Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF), the EWA has mobilized efforts to expand the Ferlo National Park in Senegal.

This protected park is a refuge for scimitar-horned oryx, dama gazelle, and dorcas gazelle as well as other African species; many of which have gone extinct in the wild.  Beyond protection, these reserves also serve as gentic reserviors for future reintroduction projects.  Recent efforts by the EWA and donations of fencing and tools by the Stay-Tuff Company and Uvalco Supply have helped add 4 km of fencing to the Ferlo reserve, increasing its area of protection by 50%.  Another 3 km of fencing is also headed to Niger to help expand an ostrich preserve there.

To read the entire October 2009 article from the Sandscript publication follow this link; to learn more about the EWA, visit www.exoticwildlifeassociation.com