Almost $250 ready to donate — where are we sending it?
Add to our donation and get a free FUZZ mug this month!
It’s time to choose this month’s FUZZ Funds recipient, and before we see the nominees, I’m offering a special bonus if you upgrade your subscription before the end of the month in support of animals around the world. Our first FUZZ Mug is ready to ship, and I’ll send it to you free in the North America if you upgrade to an annual subscription:
The 11oz two-tone mug features threatened and endangered animals from around the world, including some of my favorites from my adventures — manuls, pygmy owls, Eurasian lynx and gharial. It’s available in the funky FUZZ colors, or in a classic black and white.
Don’t want to worry about a subscription or already have one? I’ll also send you the mug if you make a minimum one-time contribution of $25 toward this month’s FUZZ Funds. And don’t worry, I’ll also upgrade your account for the month so you can vote for your favorite recipient, too.
As a reminder, 100% of your subscription or contribution will go to conservation causes around the world. I don’t take out any fees or overhead, even for the mug!
Join 36 other paid subscribers who are contributing a total of $246 this month for threatened and endangered animals around the world. We can do more together. Add to our FUZZ funds before I send the donation April 1 by upgrading your subscription or making a one-time contribution:
Unfortunately I can’t offer the mug internationally but if you’d really like one, drop me a note and I’ll figure something out!
Meet this month’s FUZZ Funds nominees!
LEO Africa Anti-Poaching Unit
You might remember Mark Kaptein from the newsletter earlier this month — the Dutch ecologist who wrecks rental cars and, more importantly, spends nine months a year battling poachers on a South African reserve. His team at LEO Africa removes hundreds of snares each week, saving countless animals from painful deaths in wire traps.
What also makes LEO Africa’s approach unique is the investment in local youth education, teaching kids the value of wildlife beyond just "meat" and creating future conservation advocates within communities. Your support would help equip rangers with essential tools, from GPS units to camera traps, helping them stay one step ahead of poachers targeting the reserve's lions, leopards and other threatened species.
Monarch Resiliency Fund
Sometimes the smallest creatures need our biggest attention. The dramatic decline in monarch butterfly populations threatens entire ecosystems, yet receives less funding than charismatic mammals. The Monarch Resiliency Fund, operated by the Monarch Joint Venture, combines science-based conservation with practical habitat restoration across North America.
Their work helps protect and restore monarch breeding and migration habitats throughout the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. What makes their approach unique is their focus on creating climate-resilient habitats that can withstand extreme weather events that have devastated monarch populations in recent years. Your support would help expand their network of milkweed corridors and overwintering habitats, giving these iconic orange-and-black travelers a fighting chance against climate change and habitat loss.
The Hirola Conservation Project
This month, we also virtually visited the dusty borderlands between Kenya and Somalia to meet a truly unique antelope — the hirola, or "four-eyed antelope," with distinctive facial glands that create the illusion of an extra set of eyes. With fewer than 500 individuals remaining, they're the world's most endangered antelope and the last surviving members of their entire evolutionary branch. (They’re also on the mug!)
Founded by Dr. Abdullahi Ali, who grew up watching these creatures graze alongside his family's cattle, the Hirola Conservation Program combines scientific research with community-led solutions. What makes their approach special is addressing both immediate threats and ecosystem restoration — they've created predator-proof sanctuaries while manually clearing invasive trees and replanting native grasses to recreate the habitat functions once provided by elephants.
Your support would help continue their remarkable grassland restoration work, which has already shown promising results with increased calving rates inside protected areas. As Dr. Ali said, "There was a time the survival of the hirola was considered a fairy tale... we can now see light at the end of the tunnel."
It’s time to vote!
At the moment, we have $246 in the pot for this month’s FUZZ Funds donation, which reflects everyone’s monthly support and 1/12th of each annual subscription.
If you upgrade your subscription or make a one-time contribution before the end of the month, you’ll get a FUZZ mug as a thank you from me, as well as the ability to vote in the poll below. (Give me a few hours to upgrade your account after you contribute so you can vote!)
I’ll update everyone in April 2’s newsletter with the final donation total and the winner, so vote or join before then!
Which org is going to take home the March FUZZ Funds donation from our community of animal lovers?
Have a great weekend.