This thread is partly inspired by @littleRedPanda's post, which asks what would you do with your money if you died. On a lighter note, I'm interested to hear what people would do if they found themselves with a spare $10 million. The scenario: You somehow find yourself a billionaire. You do the obvious things like retiring (whether your 18 or 65 years old), going on trips around the world, buying property, putting your kids through college or helping out your friends and family, buying your dream car etc. On Christmas Eve of that year, you're visted by three ghosts during the night, who order you to spare $10 million for a cause related to animals. You don't say "I ain't afraid of no ghosts!" You don't call Ghost Busters and you certiantly don't quibble about whether the cause has to be animal related. You say "Yes ghosts." and get straight down to drafting ideas of where this spare $10 million will be going. In the post below, share your ideas...
If I was a billionaire, then $10m would be nothing. I would therefore pile it into one cause, to see how beneficial it was over maybe a 10 year period, with a view to ploughing more into it, or an associated project at a later date. Without thinking too much about it, I would donate to projects relating to the release of Amur Leopards into the wild and safeguarding theirs and the Amur Tiger's futures.
I would try to destroy me some AR groups, and buy every possum in NZ and bring them to the eastern US trade.
For me, it would be pretty much the same answer I gave to the question in littleRedPanda’s thread: I would split the money between Free The Bears Fund and Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. There’s no question as to where my loyalties lie!
You sure love your sunbears @beccasunbear. I'd give the $10 million to a specific zoo/s in New Zealand on the condition they used it for a particular species. This would be a species I'd feel would enhance their collection. Off the top of my head, this would be either jaguar for Auckland Zoo, snow leopards for Wellington Zoo or chimpanzee for Orana Wildlife Park. I'd be heavily involved with the planning of the new enclosures and aquisition of the animal and would insist on working at least one day a week at the zoo with the team caring for that animal and be involved in introductions, breeding of that species. I'd aim to be a fully productive member of the team but in the initial days and weeks, I'd likely be perceived as just that annoying lad who turns up to 'help' and everyone at the zoo has to look pleased about this because he's richer than anyone they know and the zoo needs his money.
I really do. These two organisations are doing such great work for sun bears and so I feel by far that they would deserve my money above all others. Not to say that any other organisations are any less worthy, just that these two best meet my own personal interests and therefore would provide the most valuable investment for me and my needs.
Set up a dedicated breeding facility somewhere out in the wilds of Northumberland for Marbled Polecat and European Mink - several pairs of each belonging to multiple genetic lines, and working with the EAZA studbooks for both.
Dang I didn't thought of the numbers... Obviously I would start by finding states that allow marsupials to be privately kept. Then I would look for no-breed sanctuaries (although some pet owners don't breed their animals so I wouldn't know the difference between some sanctuaries and roadside zoos other than the agenda). I would give some to zoos (big and small) and animal educators (read: pet owners in denial who make money off their pets while lecturing others not to keep animals) as animal ambassadors, because I consider brush-tail possums as animals with a great potential to be marsupial ambassadors, since they are larger than a sugar gliders but smaller than a kangaroos. Ditto this process in GB, South Korea ,Russia , and Thailand. Then I would try to convince people that possums are not different from cats and they deserve love. I wouldn't mind releasing hybridized possums to Australia since some people can't distinguish the subspecies. I would just release them based on their phenotype. I would release some to Turkey as a FU for being what it is.
Well, if I was already a billionaire and didn't need the ten million... I'd either use it to fund a cetacean sanctuary (if there was one available) or I'd spend it towards something related to Texas wildlife. Maybe help fund a conservation group, or education center, or zoo exhibit.
If I was a billionaire I'd already be donating at least 10 million every year. It would be split between JWPT (or whatever they are these days) and Wildlife Conservation International, and any other worthwhile wildlife oriented project, including upgrading zoos in developing nations with a significant educational component directed at the local populace. I'd also fly 50 Australian herpetophiles to Guam for a several weeks, to go out each night in a co-ordinated and methodical fashion, catching Brown Tree Snakes. Hix
It might cost a little more than $10-million, but hiring a group of mercenaries and carving off a chunk of the DRC for myself has always been appealing.
Well, enough people have tried that in the last few hundred years. I'm not sure the ecological or humanitarian consequences have been that great for anyone involved.