Two field biologists and researchers dedicated to saving elephants have been awarded conservation medals by San Diego Zoo Global. Since 1966, the conservation medal awards program has recognized leaders who share their vision to end species extinction. This year, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder of Save the Elephants, and Michael Chase, who started Elephants Without Borders, were honoured.
Douglas-Hamilton, who started Save the Elephants in 1993, was honoured for lifetime achievement. He and his organization have contributed to legislation against ivory trade and importation, and have been leading efforts to end the poaching crisis facing elephants. At the age of 23, Douglas-Hamilton completed the world’s first in-depth scientific study of elephant social behavior, based on pachyderms in Tanzania’s Lake Manyara National Park. After earning his doctorate in zoology from the University of Oxford, Douglas-Hamilton went on to investigate the status of elephants throughout Africa in the 1970s. The zoo pointed out that he had chronicled the destruction of half of Africa’s elephant population between 1979 and 1989.
Dr.Michael Chase was honoured for “conservation in action” through providing data on the status of elephants and other wildlife, identifying cross-border corridors and discovering new migration routes. He is also the principal researcher coordinating the Great Elephant Census, spanning 21 countries, which started two years ago and which is expected to conclude later this year. “This came as a great surprise and I’m overwhelmed — it’s a tremendous honour,” Chase said. “The award does come with a very generous gift, and I hope to use the money to establish the first elephant and rhino sanctuary in Botswana to rehabilitate and re-introduce orphaned animals into the wild.”(The medals come with a $10,000 cash award.)
