The Peregrine Fund
Encyclopedia
The Peregrine Fund is a non-profit organization founded in 1970 that conserves
Habitat conservation
Habitat conservation is a land management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore, habitat areas for wild plants and animals, especially conservation reliant species, and prevent their extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range...

 threatened and endangered birds of prey. The successful recovery in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 of the Peregrine Falcon
Peregrine Falcon
The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...

, which was removed from the U.S. Endangered Species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

 List in 1999 , enabled the organization to expand its mission to include other endangered raptors around the world. The Peregrine Fund is headquartered at its World Center for Birds of Prey
World Center for Birds of Prey
The World Center for Birds of Prey, is the headquarters for The Peregrine Fund, an international non-profit organization founded in 1970 that conserves endangered raptors around the world. Built in 1984, the World Center for Birds of Prey is located on on a hilltop overlooking Boise, Idaho...

 in Boise, Idaho, on a 580 acres (2.3 km²) campus with breeding and research facilities, an administrative office, interpretive center, research library, and archives.

Mission

The Peregrine Fund's goals are to restore species in jeopardy (also known as endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

), conserve habitat, educate students, train conservationists, provide factual information to the public, and enhance local capacity for science and conservation in developing countries through education. It currently is involved in recovery of the California Condor
California Condor
The California Condor is a New World vulture, the largest North American land bird. Currently, this condor inhabits only the Grand Canyon area, Zion National Park, and coastal mountains of central and southern California and northern Baja California...

 and Aplomado Falcon
Aplomado Falcon
The Aplomado Falcon, Falco femoralis, is a medium-sized falcon of the Americas. The species' largest contiguous range is in South America, but not in the deep interior Amazon Basin. It was long known as Falco fusco-coerulescens or Falco fuscocaerulescens, but these names are now believed to refer...

 in the United States and a variety of raptors in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, West Indies, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

, and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 .
www.peregrinefund.org

Approach

The Peregrine Fund is a non-political, science-based, project-driven conservation organization. It works in partnership with local conservation groups and local, state and national governments on its recovery projects. It also partners with students by supporting their education in raptor biology and other scientific fields. To date, beneficiaries have received more than a dozen bachelor degrees, 47 master's degrees and 17 doctorates. The organization receives funds from foundation and government grants, memberships and individual donations for bird recovery programs. An endowment fund pays administrative and development costs. As a result, 96 percent of donations go directly to programs. The organization has 33-member, multi-national board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

 representing business, science and conservation.

History

At the first Peregrine Conference in 1965, biologists concluded that the Peregrine Falcon was in serious decline around the world. Concerned enthusiasts in the sport of falconry
Falconry
Falconry is "the taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained raptor". There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle...

 believed that breeding falcons in captivity would be a way to keep the species alive if the wild birds became extinct. After a second meeting at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

 in 1969, the governments of the United States, Canada and Mexico were asked to protect the remaining populations of Peregrine Falcons. The U.S. Department of Interior listed the falcon as endangered in 1970. The pesticide DDT
DDT
DDT is one of the most well-known synthetic insecticides. It is a chemical with a long, unique, and controversial history....

, which caused the birds' eggshells to become thin and break, was banned for domestic use in the United States in 1972. The falcon remained on the list of endangered species when the Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...

 was adopted by Congress in 1973.

Ornithology
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...

 professor Tom Cade founded The Peregrine Fund at Cornell University in 1970 to breed the falcons in captivity and release them to the wild. In 1974 a second breeding operation was begun in Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins, Colorado
Fort Collins is a Home Rule Municipality situated on the Cache La Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, and is the county seat and most populous city of Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Fort Collins is located north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. With a 2010 census...

, managed by Bill Burnham, who went on to become president of The Peregrine Fund for 23 years. Both operations relocated to Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...

 after the World Center for Birds of Prey
World Center for Birds of Prey
The World Center for Birds of Prey, is the headquarters for The Peregrine Fund, an international non-profit organization founded in 1970 that conserves endangered raptors around the world. Built in 1984, the World Center for Birds of Prey is located on on a hilltop overlooking Boise, Idaho...

 was established in 1984. The Peregrine Fund bred and released more than 4,000 falcons from 1974 to 1997. In 1985, The Peregrine Fund held an international conference on the 20th anniversary of the first Peregrine Conference to celebrate the survival and growing recovery of the falcon population and to assess its global status.

Since 1970, The Peregrine Fund has hatched and raised 20 species of rare birds and pioneered propagation and releasing techniques for numerous species. Species systematically released to the wild to develop techniques or restore wild populations include the Aplomado Falcon
Aplomado Falcon
The Aplomado Falcon, Falco femoralis, is a medium-sized falcon of the Americas. The species' largest contiguous range is in South America, but not in the deep interior Amazon Basin. It was long known as Falco fusco-coerulescens or Falco fuscocaerulescens, but these names are now believed to refer...

, Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...

, Bat Falcon
Bat Falcon
The Bat Falcon is a falcon that is a resident breeder in tropical Mexico, Central and South America and Trinidad. It was long known as Falco albigularis; the name Falco fusco-coerulescens or Falco fuscocaerulescens, long used for the Aplomado Falcon, are now believed to refer to the present...

, California Condor
California Condor
The California Condor is a New World vulture, the largest North American land bird. Currently, this condor inhabits only the Grand Canyon area, Zion National Park, and coastal mountains of central and southern California and northern Baja California...

, Harpy Eagle, Madagascar Fish Eagle
Madagascar Fish Eagle
The Madagascar Fish Eagle or Madagascar Sea-eagle is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers. The range of this eagle is within the Madagascar dry deciduous forests...

, Mauritius Kestrel
Mauritius Kestrel
The Mauritius Kestrel is a bird of prey from the family Falconidae endemic to the forests of Mauritius, where it is restricted to the southwestern plateau's forests, cliffs, and ravines.It is the most distinct of the Indian Ocean kestrels...

, Orange-breasted Falcon
Orange-breasted Falcon
The Orange-breasted Falcon is a bird of the falcon family. It is probably closely related to and looks like a larger version of the Bat Falcon. These two, in turn, are probably closest to the Aplomado Falcon and constitute a rather old American lineage of Falcos.It is found from southern Mexico to...

, and Prairie Falcon
Prairie Falcon
The Prairie Falcon is a medium-sized falcon of western North America.It is about the size of a Peregrine Falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm , wingspan of 1 metre , and weight of 720 g...

. Overall, the organization has monitored, surveyed and worked with 99 raptor species in the wild around the world.

U.S. Programs

The Peregrine Fund currently has two recovery projects in the United States: The Aplomado Falcon
Aplomado Falcon
The Aplomado Falcon, Falco femoralis, is a medium-sized falcon of the Americas. The species' largest contiguous range is in South America, but not in the deep interior Amazon Basin. It was long known as Falco fusco-coerulescens or Falco fuscocaerulescens, but these names are now believed to refer...

 in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

 and the California Condor
California Condor
The California Condor is a New World vulture, the largest North American land bird. Currently, this condor inhabits only the Grand Canyon area, Zion National Park, and coastal mountains of central and southern California and northern Baja California...

 in northern Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. Aplomado Falcons once were widespread in the American Southwest but habitat changes, pesticides and human persecution restricted their range to a few areas in Mexico by the 1950s. The Peregrine Fund began breeding the falcons and releasing them in Texas in 1993. With a substantial population of falcons established in South Texas, the focus then shifted to West Texas. In 2002 Aplomado Falcons were released on several private ranches and in 2007, biologists observed the fledging of wild falcons in West Texas for the first time in more than 70 years. In 2006 the organization began releasing captive-bred Aplomado Falcons in New Mexico and the first nesting pair was observed there in 2007.

California Condors were close to extinction in the 1980s when an effort began to capture the last birds in existence, numbering 22 in 1981. Condor pairs have produced more than 100 offspring at the Boise breeding facility. By 1996 there were enough young condors to begin establishing a recovery effort in Arizona (one was already under way in California). The goal of the recovery plan is to establish two geographically separate populations, each with at least 150 condors and 15 breeding pairs. When chicks are ready to fledge, they are transported from the breeding facility in Idaho to the release site in Arizona. These condors produced their first wild offspring by 2003. Future success of the program is jeopardized by lead poisoning from carcasses and gut piles left in the field by shooters using lead ammunition, which fragment into hundreds of tiny pieces upon impact. The Peregrine Fund currently is researching the amount of lead contained in hunter-killed game animals.

International Programs

The Neotropical Raptor Conservation Program is the largest component of The Peregrine Fund's international programs. The Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

 office, Fondo Peregrino-Panama, is staffed by biologists, educators and administrators to research and conserve the one-third of the world's birds of prey that are found in Central
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

 and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. Raptor projects include the Harpy Eagle and Orange-breasted Falcon
Orange-breasted Falcon
The Orange-breasted Falcon is a bird of the falcon family. It is probably closely related to and looks like a larger version of the Bat Falcon. These two, in turn, are probably closest to the Aplomado Falcon and constitute a rather old American lineage of Falcos.It is found from southern Mexico to...

. Since 1998, more than 40 Harpy Eagles have been hatched in captivity and released to the wild in Panama and Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...

. In 2007, rare Orange-breasted Falcons bred in captivity were released for the first time to the wild in their traditional territory in Belize. The organization has worked with 34 raptor species in the wild in this part of the world.

The West Indies Project focuses on raptors found only on the Caribbean Islands. Current research and conservation efforts are directed at the critically endangered Ridgway's Hawk
Ridgway's Hawk
Ridgway's Hawk is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks and Old World vultures...

 in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

, the Grenada Hook-billed Kite confined to the island of Grenada
Grenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...

, and the Cuban Kite
Cuban Kite
The Cuban Kite, Chondrohierax wilsonii, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, eagles and harriers. It is endemic to Cuba....

, endemic to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 and among the rarest species of raptor in the world.

The Pan Africa Raptor Conservation Program is designed to help stem the loss of biodiversity in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. Many species threatened by habitat loss have been surveyed, including the Cape Vulture
Cape Vulture
The Cape Griffon or Cape Vulture , also known as Kolbe's Vulture, is an Old World vulture in the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is endemic to southern Africa, and is found mainly in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana and in some parts of northern Namibia...

 and Taita Falcon
Taita Falcon
The Taita Falcon is one of the smallest falcons in the Southern African Sub-region. It was first described from the Taita Hills of Kenya from which it derives its name. It is spread throughout the eastern portion of subsaharan Africa but is mostly found in Kenya...

 in southern Africa and the African Fish Eagle
African Fish Eagle
The African Fish Eagle or – to distinguish it from the true fish eagles , the African Sea Eagle – is a large species of eagle that is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water occur that have an abundant food supply. As a result of its large range, it is known in many...

, Augur Buzzard
Augur Buzzard
The Augur Buzzard is a 55–60 cm long African bird of prey. The taxonomy on this species is confusing, with some taxonomists considering this species, the Jackal Buzzard, and the Archer's Buzzard to be the same superspecies. Many taxonomists consider them all to be distinct, having...

, Sokoke Scops Owl
Sokoke Scops Owl
The Sokoke Scops Owl, Otus ireneae, is an owl found in Kenya and Tanzania. The greatest population of this species of owl is in the Cynometra-Manilkara forest, which is less than one-third of the Sokoke forest. It is also found in the Afzelia-Cynometra forest.The Sokoke Scops Owl can grow up to ,...

, Pemba Scops Owl
Pemba Scops Owl
The Pemba Scops-owl, Petit-duc De Pemba, or Autillo De Pemba is a species of owl in the Strigidae family.It is endemic to Tanzania....

, Ruppell's Vulture
Rüppell's Vulture
Rüppell's Vulture is a large vulture that occurs throughout the Sahel region of central Africa. The current population of 30,000 is in decline due to ongoing loss of habitat and other pressures...

, African White-backed Vulture, and Crowned Eagle
Crowned Eagle
The Crowned Eagle or Crowned Hawk-eagle , is a very large, powerful, crested bird of prey found in sub-Saharan Africa; in Southern Africa it is restricted to suitable habitat in the eastern areas. It is the only extant member of the genus Stephanoaetus...

 in several nations in East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

. The Peregrine Fund has biologists and field workers in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

, an island off the east coast of Africa with vast biological diversity. In 2006, they re-discovered the Madagascar Pochard
Madagascar Pochard
The Madagascar Pochard is an extremely rare diving duck of the genus Aythya, previously thought extinct. Prior to a rediscovery in 2006, the last confirmed sighting of the species was at Lake Alaotra on the Central Plateau of Madagascar in 1991...

, a diving duck thought to be extinct, while searching for Madagascar Harriers. The Peregrine Fund also re-discovered the Madagascar Serpent-eagle
Madagascar Serpent-eagle
The Madagascar Serpent Eagle, Serpentaire de Madagascar, or Culebrera Azor is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family...

 and Madagascar Red Owl
Madagascar Red Owl
The Madagascar Red Owl, Tyto soumagnei, is an owl in the barn owl family Tytonidae. It is also known as the Madagascar Grass-owl and Soumange's Owl. It is a rare resident of Madagascar that was virtually unknown from its discovery in 1878 to its rediscovery by researchers from the World Wide Fund...

 in 1993, both long thought to be extinct, and helped create Madagascar's largest rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

 reserve in 1997.

The Asia Pacific Raptor Conservation Program focuses on raptors on islands between Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

 and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The Peregrine Fund provides student support, training and guidance in the study of the breeding behavior and ecology of the New Guinea Harpy Eagle
New Guinea Harpy Eagle
The Papuan Eagle also known as the Papuan Harpy Eagle, New Guinea Eagle, or Kapul Eagle, is a huge greyish brown raptor with a short full crest, broad three-banded wings, powerful beak, large iris, long rounded tail and white underparts. It has long and powerful unfeathered legs with sharp claws...

. The organization also assists the Philippine Eagle Foundation to conserve and study the eagle and other raptors on islands that make up the Republic of the Philippines.

The Asian Vulture Crisis Project addresses declining vulture populations on the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...

. Over the last decade, populations of at least three species, the Oriental White-backed, Long-billed
Long-billed Vulture
The Indian Vulture is an Old World vulture and is closely related to the Griffon Vulture, G. fulvus. It breeds mainly on hilly crags in central and peninsular India. The birds in the northern part of its range once considered a subspecies are now considered a separate species, the Slender-billed...

, and Slender-billed Vulture
Slender-billed Vulture
The Slender-billed Vulture is a recently recognized species of Old World vulture. For some time, it was categorized with its relative, the Indian Vulture, under the name of "Long-billed Vulture". However, these two species have non-overlapping distribution ranges and can be immediately told apart...

s, have become critically endangered. Peregrine Fund research published in the journal Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...

determined that poisoning from the residues of diclofenac
Diclofenac
Diclofenac is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug taken to reduce inflammation and as an analgesic reducing pain in certain conditions....

 in the carcasses of livestock that had been treated with the drug for veterinary purposes was responsible for the catastrophic die-off. Indian, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

banned the drug in 2006.

External Links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK