Annual Report 2004

Once again we wish to present you with our Annual Report as a way of keeping you up to date about our efforts to protect the world’s threatened wildlife. Your continued support is essential as the basis for all of the work of the FZS and the “Help for Threatened Wildlife” Foundation for long-term nature conservation. In the following report we have summarized our project activities and are pleased to open the books on the financial situation of the Society and Foundation. The financial statements have of course been fully certified by our auditors.

Imagine for a moment that you are in East Africa. Surrounded by hundreds if not thousands of gnus and zebras on their long migration, imagine that you have no choice but to stop your vehicle in the middle of the Serengeti savanna. Here and there magnificent giraffes feed on scattered acacia trees. Some of you know this unforgettable pageant of nature! Thanks in large part to the vision of Bernhard Grzimek, the initiator of our conservation activities, scenes such as this still exist on our planet. With the support of then president Julius Nyerere, it was possible to set the parameters for the preservation of the Serengeti for future generations: an area as large as the federal state of Hessia, virtually uninhabited and protected from agriculture – a habitat just for the animals. Clearly, our work in the Serengeti must al- ways include cooperation with the people living on the borders of the reserve. The Wildlife Management Areas and educational activities, such as field trips that allow school children to get to know and love their native wildlife, play an important role in this respect. We are extremely proud of this partnership with Tanzanian authorities, which has become a model for other project areas.

We wish to express our gratitude for your continuing support over the past year. Special mention is also due to everyone who made donations for the gorillas in Congo, as well as to all of those who marked special occasions in 2004 with a gift to support the work of the FZS. On behalf of the Board and the Council of the Foundation, let me extend my heartfelt thanks to our members, sup- porters, sponsors and friends, and to our many partners around the world as well as the entire FZS team.

Gerhard Kittscher
President of the Frankfurt Zoological Society