THE LAST LEOPARD FUND
March 20, 2009 by: adminThe face of this lion tells you everything you need to know about how wild animals suffer in captivity. But what is the alternative? Did you know that according to the IUCN1 Red List of Endangered Species, one in four mammals is at risk of disappearing forever? Hunting, poaching, disease and the pressure we humans put on their habitat with our cities, factories and rubbish is wiping them off the face of the earth.
Lions, which we once imagined would be around forever, are now officially classified as ‘vulnerable to extinction’. The Amur leopard is critically endangered and is among the rarest species on Earth. When I started writing The Last Leopard in 2007, it was as a response to the uncontrolled hunting of leopards in my home country, Zimbabwe. I imagined a day when there might be only be just one last leopard. Two years on, the unthinkable is in danger of becoming reality.
My publishers, Orion, and I have teamed up with Born Free to create The Last Leopard Fund, which will be dedicated to the Rescue, Protection and Long-Term Care of Threatened Species, with a special focus on leopards, one of the most hunted animals on Earth. We plan to start by assisting Born Free with the funding of the rescue and care of three leopards who have had a nightmare life in a now-defunct zoo in Cyprus. Born Free is taking them home to Africa.
We can’t save any of these animals without your help. If you or your class have entered our competition, or if you would just like to play a special part in saving endangered animals, we’re asking you – no, we’re begging you – to find a way to raise money for The Last Leopard Fund. Hold a cake sale, do a sponsored run, auction off your model at a local bookshop or school event after the competition is over. Use your imagination and get those pounds rolling in.
Lauren St John
