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MU Chancellor Richard
Wallace draws a raffle ticket with help from representatives
of the Mizzou Tigers for Tigers program. The ticket’s
lucky owner won a giant stuffed tiger (above). The raffle
is one of many fund-raising activities that support MU’s
tiger conservation efforts. Photo by Dan Obrecht
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Preserving
the Roar
“Mizzou Tigers for Tigers is working
to ensure that there will be wild tigers for as long as there
are Mizzou Tigers”
—MU Chancellor Richard Wallace
The Mizzou
Tigers for Tigers program (MT4T) recently raised $8,000 for
the Save the Tiger
Fund, a special project of the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation in partnership with ExxonMobil Corp. An MU partner,
the Save the Tiger Fund will spend the money in Asia to assist
on-the-ground tiger conservation efforts.
In 1999 under the leadership of Chancellor
Richard Wallace, MU took a bold step and made a solid commitment
to wild tiger conservation efforts by creating the first comprehensive
endangered mascot program in the country.
The three main goals of MT4T are to 1) raise
awareness through public education about the endangered status
of wild tigers, 2) help fund conservation projects that benefit
tigers in the wild and the people who live near tigers, and 3)
create research and education opportunities for MU students and
faculty that will contribute to the conservation of tigers and
their habitat.
Like many programs, MT4T supports conservation
and seeks to educate the public. However, what makes the program
unique is its focus on the education of the next generation of
scientists and policymakers. Students involved with the program
are learning about wildlife management and people management,
outreach education and fund raising. MT4T hopes to train future
conservationists who will be prepared to take on the enormous
task of saving the wild tiger, and possibly the planet.
MU gymnastics team members received
Mizzou
Tigers for Tigers T-shirts as a reward for spreading
the word about tiger conservation at the Columbia
Downtown Twilight Festival. Photo by Dan Obrecht
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MT4T has grown from a great idea to a full-fledged
program involving diverse groups from all over campus. For example,
a doctoral student from the College
of Education recently completed an MT4T curriculum package
for fourth-grade students. With the help of MU student volunteers,
she will take this educational program into Missouri schools,
test its effectiveness and fine-tune it for future use.
A partnership between the Saint
Louis Zoo and the Department
of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences is enabling Matthew Gompper,
MU professor and Chair of the MT4T steering committee, to begin
tiger population studies at MU.
The MT4T student organization, which formed
in fall 2002, is already charging ahead to help aid tiger conservation
through grass roots fund-raising and public awareness activities.
MT4T staff and students worked with the Sinclair
School of Nursing to organize a walk-a-thon, coordinated a
raffle and brought the MT4T educational booth to MU athletic,
Alumni Association and community events.
All of these activities have one common goal
— to help preserve the symbol of our University, the majestic
wild tiger.
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Copyright © 2007 — Curators of the University of Missouri
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Published by the Mizzou Alumni Association
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Last Update:
March 12, 2007
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