THE 2010 INTAKE PERIOD IS NOW OPEN
APPLICATION DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 15, 2010
Each year, Panthera will give a prize in the amount of $15,000 to a special individual who has already made a significant contribution to conserving wild cats, and who represents the next generation of scientists, conservationists, policy makers, politicians and planners who will pave the future of wild cat conservation. This person has and will continue to work tirelessly to contribute, in a significant way, to the conservation of wild cats. Applications will be reviewed by the Cat Advisory Council, who will determine the final award recipient. The prize is to be used at the discretion of the recipient.
Please click here to download an application
2009 Prize Winner – Bayarjargal Agvaantseren
Ms. Bayarjargal (Bayara) Agvaantseren is the Executive Director and founder of the Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation (SLCF), a national conservation NGO that works closely with the Snow Leopard Trust and Panthera to implement conservation and research programs in Mongolia. Bayara began her career in cat conservation in 1996 when she joined Tom McCarthy's snow leopard research team as a translator, working specifically with herders to understand human-snow leopard conflicts. The insight she gained during herder interviews across snow leopard range in Mongolia prompted her to develop a community-based conservation program now known as Snow Leopard Enterprises (SLE). SLE's model allows semi-nomadic herders to increase their income through handicraft production in exchange for their tolerance of snow leopards. The program has received accolades from the global conservation community, and Bayara has helped to replicate the model in Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan. Bayara has also assisted in formulating Mongolia’s National Snow Leopard Policy and most recently played a key role in initiating the first ever long-term ecological study of the species in South Gobi, Mongolia. Perhaps Bayara’s most valuable quality is her ability to forge strong partnerships at many levels, be it with remote herder communities, national and international NGOs, or diverse government agencies. She is a driving force for snow leopard conservation in her native Mongolia and across the region.
2008 Prize Winner – Gianetta Purchase
Dr. Gianetta (Netty) Purchase began her career in wild cat conservation assessing a cheetah translocation project at Matusadona National Park as an MSc student at the University of Zimbabwe. Netty was then awarded a Beit Trust Scholarship to pursue her PhD at Aberdeen University in the UK. There she focused her doctoral work on competition between lions and spotted hyenas in Matusadona National Park and Liuwa Plains National Park in Zambia. Upon completing her degree, Netty helped to establish a cheetah conservation project with the Marwell Zimbabwe Trust aimed at mitigating conflict between farmers and cheetahs. More recently she has become involved in conservation management, attempting to link research with management to ensure that informed decisions are made regarding conservation policy in the region. Netty’s integrated approach to conservation considers wild landscapes, competition between species, and relationships between human and animal communities. It is this approach, combined with her significant contributions to the field and her commitment to continue working toward conservation that have earned her the 2008 Rabinowitz-Kaplan Prize for the Next Generation in Wild Cat Conservation.
2007 Prize Winner – Ivan Seryodkin
Dr. Ivan Seryodkin is a rare breed in Russia. Unlike many well educated Russians who leave the country and take their expertise elsewhere, Ivan has chosen to keep his in Russia. His intimate and lifelong knowledge of the Russian Far East has afforded him a unique perspective on the conservation of wild cats in the area. Although Ivan’s expertise and training in conservation vary from the Grey Whale to the Brown Bear, his recent work on monitoring the population status of the far eastern leopard and Amur tiger coupled with his observations of the landscape level changes to the region and understanding of its effect on wild cats as well as his intimate cultural insight into the people of the region and their effect on wild cats and their prey has all contributed to him winning the 2007 Rabinowitz-Kaplan Prize for the next generation. We were most honored that Dr. Seryodkin was able to attend the Felid Conference held in Oxford in October 2007 to receive his prize.
