Conservationist Kristine Tompkins and Barrington’s Wendy Paulson talk conservancy at the Women in Science event hosted by the Field Museum’s Women’s Board and co-chaired by Jeannie Tisbo (pictured above) and Beth Glass.
Earlier this year, American conservationist Kristine (Kris) McDivvit Tompkins helped reintroduced the jaguar to Argentina’s Iberá wetlands—70 years after hunting and habitat loss drove the species to extinction—through Rewilding Argentina, the partner organization to Tompkins Conversation, which Tompkins co-founded with her late husband, Doug.
Mariua, an adult jaguar who was rescued as an orphan in Brazil, and her two cubs were released into Gran Iberá Park in January 2021, the first of nine jaguars slated to repopulate the species in the protected area, which was created in part with lands donated by Tompkins Conservation. Dubbed rewilding, the process fights the extinction crisis by reintroducing native species that are endangered or locally extinct.
At any given time, Tompkins and her team are working on the rewilding of a dozen species, from giant anteaters to red-and-green macaws and Darwin’s rhea, as part of their worldwide conservation efforts.
“It has taken 10 very complicated, costly, and nerve-wracking years to make this happen,” says Tompkins of the jaguar rewilding in Argentina. “All reintroductions are tough, but the benefit, then, is that you really feel each of the victories.”
Read more from Country Magazine here.
Sponsorships, tickets, and event details may be found at fieldmuseum.org/WISLunch.
Leave a Reply