Annual Reports from The Peregrine Fund
Each year, The Peregrine Fund publishes a detailed report of its activities during the past year. The archive of these reports is available below.
President's Message from the current annual report
Why should we care about birds of prey? Every day we address the same question, asked by people with a broad range of interests. We’ve always drawn on science, history, and a deep appreciation for these animals in our answers. But as the rate of change on the planet accelerates, the answer is becoming more direct, personal, and compelling: human survival.
Here’s the long version: birds of prey reside at the end of lengthy, often complex food chains, which makes them extremely sensitive to even subtle changes in their habitats. Birds of prey are comparable to canaries in a coal mine. Before the invention of air quality monitors, miners brought caged canaries into mines, watching them for signs of sickness or death to indicate the presence of toxic gases. The canary’s sensitivity was a clear warning in a very specific environment; birds of prey can also provide warnings, perhaps for the entire planet.
Peregrine Falcons, for example, reacted to persistent pesticides that accumulated in our environment, affecting not just their survival, but the health of our shared ecosystem. Entire vulture populations in Asia reacted to a common pharmaceutical, with near-extinction as a result. California Condors react to lead from spent ammunition in meat, an observation that’s valuable not just for their species or habitat, but also for people and animals around the world who consume meat harvested with lead.
Environmental changes will continue to mount as we look to the future. Our current projects reflect that, as in our study last fall in cooperation with Earthspan, sampling Peregines along the Gulf of Mexico to determine impacts from last summer’s oil spill. In February, we convened experts from throughout the circumpolar north, gathering their knowledge of Gyrfalcons and their principal prey, ptarmigan. Data about both species can help us understand the ecological effects of climate change and confront the greatest conservation challenge of our time.
No one can predict how future “coal mines” will impact canaries or any other creature; but wouldn’t it be short-sighted, perhaps even foolish, to ignore the effects? Human beings are a powerful species, capable of wreaking global havoc. However, we are also the only species possessing the intellect and compassion to do something about it. We must begin by recognizing that we are not exempt from the natural world, and in fact, we may need birds of prey just as much as they need us.
Whether I’m marveling at a wild-hatched condor sunning at the Grand Canyon, or watching a Merlin hunt outside my office window, I am reminded of one thing: if we are successful, these birds’ descendants will co-exist with ours, each protecting the other.
That’s why we should all care about birds of prey.
| J. Peter Jenny | |
| President | |
| Main Phone: | 208-362-3716 |
| Country: | USA |
Combined Federal Campaign # 10639
