News

Whitley Alumni wow Prize shortlist

Five Whitley Award winners on Indy Prize shortlist

Whitley awardees account for 5 of 32 nominees for the 2018 Indianapolis Prize, ranging from Amanda Vincent our first winner in 1994 to Purnima Barman in 2017.

Best of luck to our alumni on the shortlist!:

Purnima Devi Barman 2017 Whitley Award winner — Focused on conserving greater adjutant storks in India; credited with creating a campaign to ensure the survival of the birds by changing an outlook that once viewed the birds as a bad omen.

Gerardo Ceballos 2006 Whitley Award winner — Instrumental in maintaining the Janos Biosphere reserve and a key proponent of Mexico’s Act for Endangered Species. Finalist for the 2010 and 2014 Indianapolis Prize.

Charudutt Mishra 2005 Whitley Award winner — Working to protect threatened species and habitats throughout Central Asia, instrumental in delivering the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Programme with all 12 range States; and establishing NGOs and national park anti-poaching programmes.

Claudio Sillero-Zubiri 1998 Whitley Award winner — Founder and executive director of the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme, keeping watch over Africa’s rarest and most endangered carnivore.

Amanda Vincent 1994 Whitley Award winner — First Whitley Award winner and first person to study seahorses underwater, document extensive trade and initiate a seahorse conservation project, Project Seahorse. Finalist for the 2010 and 2016 Indianapolis Prize.

The six finalists from the shortlist will be announced in the spring and the winner honoured in September 2018. The Indianapolis Prize awards $250,000 to the world’s most successful animal conservationist and five Finalists each receive $10,000. This award was established in 2006 to focus global attention on animal conservation and the outstanding men and women who dedicate their lives to saving the Earth’s endangered animal species. ​