Global Donors Commit $80-Million for Wild-Cat Conservation

Four philanthropists from around the world have pledged $20-million each to wildlife charity Panthera to fund a 10-year program to protect lions, tigers, and other species of big cats, writes the Associated Press.

The donors are mining investor and Panthera founder Thomas Kaplan and his wife, Daphne Recanati Kaplan; Jho Low, the chief executive of Hong Kong investment firm Jynwel Capital; Hemendra Kothari, chairman of DSP BlackRock India and India’s Wildlife Conservation Trust; and Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, where the gifts were announced following a signing ceremony on Sunday.

Mr. Kaplan credited the crown prince, who established a fund in 2009 to support conservation projects in the developing world, as “a catalyst” for the wider philanthropic effort. The funding pool will support a mix of new and continuing conservation efforts, including anti-poaching efforts and land purchases to create safe corridors for wild cats.