LCWF Projects

Lynn Chase Wildlife Foundation Projects

African Elephant

Why do elephants matter? Who cares?

Elephants, like humans, form deep emotional bonds with each other and a rich social structure that lasts for decades.

96 African elephants are killed every day for their ivory.
One elephant dies every 15 minutes for their ivory.
Having a baby is a serious commitment. A female elephant has a longer pregnancy than
any other mammal. 22 months!
The death rate is higher than the birth rate plus calves die once parents are slaughtered.
Over 100,000 elephants have been killed in the last 3 years.
Elephants live into their 60’s

So, why do these land giants matter?
They are the most intelligent, complex, reasoning animals that we have on top of the food chain. Once they are gone the fabric of wildlife starts to loosen and the environment in which they exist starts to unravel.

The LCWF has supported the Amboseli Trust for Elephants in Kenya for many years and Lynn herself is a board member. This park oversees 3000 square miles of wildlife protection. Cynthia Moss who incorporated this foundation has been at it for 42 years and is a close personal friend of Lynn Chase.

An example of LCWF support:
When a 55-year-old huge tusked bull went over the border into Tanzania from Kenya and was shot dead, LCWF immediately provided radio transmitters to the Maasai Rangers within the Amboseli Park to moniter other bulls. The reason older animals are so important is to teach the young tradition and manners.

Photographs of African Elephants: Shutterstock/Villiers Steyn

The Wildlife of Costa Rica

Why support the wildlife of Costa Rica?

This relatively small tropical country, wedged between Panama and Nicaragua is about the size of West Virginia. But it is home to 4% of the world’s biodiversity, as much as the U.S. and Canada together!

The Lynn Chase Wildlife Foundation (LCWF) supports a very important project led by Eric Palola, a good friend of ours, who directs the Guanacaste Dry Forest Conservation Fund (GDFCF) the formal non-profit support group to one of the largest and most complex protected areas within Costa Rica, the 412,000 acre Area de Conservacion Guanacaste. This protected area includes 4 distinct ecosystems: Marine, Pacific dry forest, Cloud forest and Caribbean rain forest as well as 3 volcanos almost 6,000 feet high. The Yellowstone of the tropics! Eric and his Board support this protected area through science and education programs that help conserve an estimated 375,000 species. Totally amazing! How many of you like to see birds in your back yard in the summer? Of the 576 species of birds in this area (including toucans and parrots) roughly 60 species migrate to your gardens and woods in the U.S. in the summertime. Other local species include anteaters, wild pigs, monkeys, tapirs, agoutis, and several species of sea turtle. The LCWF is happy to support GDFCF's work in neotropical bird conservation knowing that this project is nested within a total effort that helps a wide diversity of wildlife, including 5 species of cats: jaguar, puma, ocelot, margay and Jaguarundi.
(I just happen to like cats and birds!)

Photograph of Keel-Billed Toucan: Shutterstock/Ivan Kuzmin

Photograph of Margay: Shutterstock/Ondrej Prosicky.

Copper River Delta and the Endangered Red Knot

Red Knot

What happens every April and May?

It is the peak flying season for migratory shore birds – 5 million of which land on 2 million acres of pristine Alaskan wetlands of great diversity at one time! Think of it! This Copper River Delta Shorebird Reserve in Cordova, South Central Alaska, provides crucial stopovers for shorebirds and waterfowl flying from wintering grounds as far away as Peru, South America. This is a cosmopolitan highway for migratory birds throughout the Western Hemisphere. These birds replenish their energy, nest or fly on to other Alaskan grounds or Siberia.

Through LCWF, Lynn has supported Dr. Mary Anne Bishop, Research Ecologist, Prince William Sound Science Center, Cordova, Alaska who has spearheaded this migratory research. LCWF has provided her with radio telemetry to identify reliable locations for the stopover sites of the least endandered Western Sandpiper.

Why is the endangered Red Knot important? Do you like to see migratory bird such as Sandpipers, Dunlins, Dowitchers, Yellowlegs, and Plovers on your beach, running to catch the waves? Do you like to sport fish? Salmon and trout live in the same environment. There a host of wonderful land species that share this environment.