The Lincoln Park Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers is hosting our annual Bowling for Rhinos fundraiser on August 15^th, 2017 at Diversey River Bowl in Chicago. We are a local non-profit dedicated to raising awareness for conservation and cultivating an appreciation for the animal care profession.

BFR started in 1990 and is an event hosted by over 80 chapters of the American Association of Zoo Keepers throughout the US and Canada every year. Over $6.6 million has been raised nationally since this fundraiser began, and 100% of the funds go directly to conservation efforts in Africa and Asia to help protect critically endangered rhinos as well as their habitats. Rhinos are a keystone species and play a pivotal role in their ecosystems. By protecting rhinos we are helping every other species of plants and animals that share that habitat.

 The 5 species of rhinos are on the brink of extinction due to poaching. At the start of the 20^th century there were over 500,000 of these magnificent animals, and today there are less than 30,000. 95% of the world’s rhino population has been lost in the last 40 years, and without our help rhinos may go extinct within the next 25 years. The huge demand for rhino horn in Asia for “medicinal purposes” has caused poaching to increase 9300% since 2007. Over 7,100 rhinos have been killed in South Africa alone in the last 10 years. The only chance for rhinos to survive is to maintain protected areas for them to live in. BFR money is used to fence in these areas, to purchase planes and land rover vehicles to curtail poaching, to translocate rhinos into the sanctuaries and parks, to purchase trip cameras for censusing, to pay salaries for anti-poaching security guards and much more.