This in from Karen-Jane Dudley on behalf of Isle of Wight Zoo. Ed
Team Tigres is made up to two teams of five female amateur riders, including the IOW Zoo’s Director, Charlotte Corney and Marketing Manager Karen-Jane Dudley, for the fundraiser which will comprise of two road race bikes, two static turbo trainers and a mountain of sheer determination!
The rule is simple, the team must cover a combined distance total of 1,156 km within 48 hrs to achieve their goal.
Businesses support Team Tigres
The Team Tigres challenge is continuing to gather a great flow of support on both the Isle of Wight and further afield with bikes and turbo trainers kindly being supplied by Al’s bikes in Sandown and Marin Bikes UK; Betapak have kindly offered to supply the team with energy bars and drinks to keep the team at full speed throughout their challenge; Norfolk China have also generously sponsored the teams efforts.
Support for the event has come as far afield as Europe with two Dutch riders, Mariet Van Schie and Iris De Kruyff (who spent three months as interns at the IOW Zoo in 2014/15) while race kits for the event have kindly been sponsored by Barneveld Groenhorst College in Holland
Boost to sponsorship
Team Tigres have received a huge boost in the past few days with confirmation that Dutch founded animal charity WWAR (World Wide Animal Rescue) have kindly pledged to make a significant donation giving the team an additional incentive to keep those wheels spinning.
Additional sponsors are being continually added and a full list of official sponsors will be available during the challenge and company logos will be proudly added to the Team Tigres kits.
All funds to tiger conservation project
ALL FUNDS raised from the Team Tigres challenge will be donated directly to the in-situ tiger conservation project which the IOW Zoo funds.
Wild tiger populations have plummeted by a devastating 97% during the last 100 years and, with a collective number of only approx 3,200 individuals remaining, tigers are now one of the world’s most endangered species.
Preserving the tigers and their habitat
For several years the Isle of Wight Zoo has been funding a tiger conservation project in the Karnataka region of India. This area is home to wild tigers within the Kudremukh National Park and Bhadra Reserve.
The project leader has been working tirelessly with local people to promote the preservation of the tigers and their wild habitat. Annual reports received by the zoo show the success of this project even in the face of great adversity.
Find out more
The team have recently launched their own dedicated website to enable supporters to donate and add their support for the team alongside their own twitter account @team_tigres.
Aims of the project
The fundamental aims of the project are to promote and support:
Conservation Education and Awareness Building: By building local support for the park and reducing hostility towards tigers. It involves the entire community, from children to government agencies.
Establishing an Information Network to Support State Wildlife Protection: This involves the local people in supporting efforts to reduce illegal activities such as poaching and trespassing.
Reduce Human-Wildlife Conflict through Voluntary Resettlement: The Indian government funds resettlement for people who wish to move out of National Parks. Our project provides advocacy for these people, making sure that they get the support they are entitled to and that their lives improve as a result of a move. Resettlement is voluntary – no one is forced to move, but many people choose to in order to live in a safer environment.
Where will the raised funds go?
The project costs just over £10,000 per year.
- £10 will pay for local labour to carry out essential habitat protection work for one month.
- £30 will pay the communication costs of the project for one month.
- £40 will pay for educational materials such as film, CDs and stationery for one month.
- £60 will maintain the project vehicles for one month.
- £115 will pay one month’s salary for a junior field assistant.
- £200 will pay one month’s salary for a senior field assistant.
- £360 will fund the activities of the project leader for one month.
- £900 will fund the whole project for one month.
- £210 will fund the whole project for one week.
- £30 will fund the project for one day.
