“As an employee at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose since the facility opened to the public in 1984, I’ve seen a lot of memorable wildlife conservation events and met some remarkable people along the way. If you haven’t do so before, we hope you will visit us sometime, but let me try to explain what we do and why we do it.
“We oversee more than 1,100 animals spanning 50-plus species on 1,800 acres, and there are some particular species with which we have found success. We’re consistently a top-three production center in North America for cheetahs, we are the top producer of Attwater’s prairie chickens, plus we are a strong producer of addax, scimitar-horned oryx, Arabian oryx, addra gazelle, sable antelope, Grevy’s zebras and other species.
“We strive to maintain viable insurance populations of selected wildlife according to the natural history of a species and within Fossil Rim’s environment. It is not about how many different species we work with, but rather working as well as we can to make a meaningful impact toward the continued existence of the species we do oversee.
“We place a high premium on the successful production of offspring by our animals. That helps maintain the groups that we have and then extrapolates out to boosting the broader metapopulations of the species we work with.
“Obviously the land itself provides a fantastic environment for these animals. But we are so very proud of the team that it takes to care for so many of them. And we also know that all Fossil Rim staff, interns and volunteers play a huge part of this organization’s conservation mission. We recognize that each visitor or supporter becomes a conservation partner in supporting that mission.
“On Thursday, September 22, every $25 donation or greater will be amplified through an automatic bonus distributed by North Texas Giving Day. I can promise that 100% of your donations to Fossil Rim will go directly to our capital needs, which will help us provide the best-possible care for these animals.
“For us, it’s about a long-term, sustained endeavor. The end will never come for our efforts with most of these species, because natural habitats are generally getting smaller, not larger. The lists of threatened and endangered species are not getting shorter; they are getting longer. We must have source populations to accommodate reintroduction into the wild, as well as ensure they continue to exist for many years to come.”
-By Kelley Snodgrass, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center Chief Operating Officer
* Photos provided by Fossil Rim Wildlife Center _______
In seven years, North Texas Giving Day has pumped more than $119 million into the North Texas community. In 2015, $33 million was raised through more than 118,000 gifts benefiting over 2,000 nonprofits.
On Thursday, September 22, support Fossil Rim Wildlife Center by linking here and spreading the word. #NTxGivingDay