Alan Rabinowitz Receives George B. Rabb Conservation Award

Wildlife Conservation Society’s Director of Science and Exploration Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, is the first recipient of the George B. Rabb Conservation Award presented by the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages the Brookfield Zoo. Dr. Rabinowitz is best known for his conservation and protection of big cats native to Asia and South America.

Dr. Rabinowitz’s most recent achievement is establishment of the Hukaung Valley Tiger Reserve in northern Myanmar (Burma). Creating the reserve, which is equal in size to the state of Vermont, caps his foundation of the Northern Forest Complex in Myanmar, a set of four contiguous protected areas that comprise one of the world’s wildest, most pristine remaining habitats.

“Dr. Rabinowitz is a man obsessed with saving some of this earth’s most magnificent and endangered species, and doing so in a way that exemplifies using resources sustainably, so that future generations will be able to enjoy the beauty and the benefits of nature,” said Dr. Stuart Strahl, CEO and president of Chicago Zoological Society. Thus, Dr. Strahl says, Dr. Rabinowitz mirrors the manner of the award’s namesake, Dr. George B. Rabb, who devoted his career to advancing conservation science and understanding of the need to live harmoniously with nature.

Dr. Rabb, president emeritus of the Chicago Zoological Society, is Brookfield Zoo’s former, long-time director and a recognized leader in animal husbandry, conservation research, public education, and support of naturalistic exhibits.

The George B. Rabb Conservation Award was created by the Board of Trustees of the Chicago Zoological Society to honor Dr. Rabb’s lifetime accomplishments, which are evident at the zoo and throughout the conservation community. Dr. Rabinowitz will receive the George B. Rabb Conservation Award at a private ceremony in Chicago on March 14.

“I am extremely pleased to be receiving the George Rabb Conservation Award, honoring the lifetime accomplishments of a man who helped make the Chicago Zoological Society one of the world's leading centers of excellence in partnering the role of zoos with conservation initiatives that save species in their natural habitats throughout the world,” Rabinowitz said.

Called the “Indiana Jones” of wildlife science by the New York Times, Dr. Rabinowitz is noted for his world travel and wildlife conservation accomplishments. He has published extensively, including four books, the most recent of which, Beyond the Last Village, highlights his explorations and discoveries in Myanmar, and more than 50 scientific and popular articles.  Dr. Rabinowitz has also contributed extensively to our knowledge of jaguars, clouded leopards, Asiatic leopards, tigers, Sumatran rhinos and other large mammal species; established the world's first jaguar sanctuary (in Belize); established Taiwan’s largest Nature Reserve; and completed the first field research on IndoChinese tigers in what was to become the region's first World Heritage Site.

Dr. Rabinowitz will explore his work in Myanmar at Brookfield Zoo on March 15, 2005, presenting the first in the zoo’s three-part spring lecture series on the Elusive Cats of Asia.

For more information about WCS' Science and Exploration Program please visit Saving Wild Places.

For more information about WCS's work to save jaguars visit Save the Jaguar.

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