Nominees Announced for World's Leading Animal Conservation Award

"These remarkable Nominees are responsible for some of the finest conservation work occurring on our planet today. They lead, protect, inspire and offer hope for everyone who cares about the natural world," said Dr. Rob Shumaker, Indianapolis Zoo president. "I am immensely proud that we can highlight their important achievements through the Indianapolis Prize." "These remarkable Nominees are responsible for some of the finest conservation work occurring on our planet today. They lead, protect,...

"These remarkable Nominees are responsible for some of the finest conservation work occurring on our planet today. They lead, protect, inspire and offer hope for everyone who cares about the natural world," said Dr. Rob Shumaker, Indianapolis Zoo president. "I am immensely proud that we can highlight their important achievements through the Indianapolis Prize."

Nominees hail from countries across the globe, focused on animals both iconic and unique, from primates and elephants to marine mammals and birds. The Winner of the Prize receives an unrestricted $250,000 cash award while five remaining Finalists will each receive $10,000.

Internationally renowned professional conservationists and local representatives make up a Nominating Committee and Jury who will select six Finalists and determine a Winner, respectively. These selected conservationists will then be honored at the next Indianapolis Prize Gala presented by Cummins Inc., to be held Sept. 12, 2020.

In alphabetical order, the Nominees for the 2020 Indianapolis Prize are:

A History of Indianapolis Prize Winners

The Indianapolis Prize was first awarded in 2006 to Dr. George Archibald, the co-founder of the International Crane Foundation. The 2008 winner was George Schaller, Ph.D., known as one of the founding fathers of wildlife conservation, and both a senior conservationist for the Wildlife Conservation Society and vice president for Panthera. In 2010, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Ph.D., founder of Save the Elephants, received the Prize for his pioneering research in elephant social behavior and for leading the way in the fight against the poaching of African elephants. Steven Amstrup, Ph.D., chief scientist for Polar Bears International, received the 2012 Prize for his work promoting the cause of the world's largest land carnivore. In 2014, Dr. Patricia C. Wright, founder of Centre ValBio, became the first woman awarded the Indianapolis Prize for her dedication to saving Madagascar's famed lemurs from extinction. Last year, Dr. Carl Jones received the 2016 Indianapolis Prize for his species recovery success on the island of Mauritius, including the echo parakeet, pink pigeon and Mauritius kestrel. Russ Mittermeier, Ph.D., Chief Conservation Officer of Global Wildlife Conservation earned the 2018 Prize for championing the concept of biodiversity hotspots and protecting the endemic species relying on those critical habitats.

ABOUT THE INDIANAPOLIS PRIZE

The Indianapolis Prize recognizes and rewards conservationists who have achieved major victories in advancing the sustainability of an animal species or group of species. Winners receive an unrestricted $250,000 award. Remaining Finalists each receive $10,000.