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michelezsl

Namdapha Flying Squirrel Update

Thanks to the generosity of your donations, we’re moving closer to achieving our aims and getting the search for the elusive Namdapha Flying Squirrel underway!

Additional funding secured

In the months since the crowdfunding campaign ended, we’ve been working hard to secure further funding to give us the best possible chance of a successful expedition. As a result of this, we’re delighted to share the news that we have been awarded an additional $5000 from the Chicago Zoological Society through their CBOT Endangered Species Fund. This money, combined with what we have raised thus far, will ensure that our field team have all the necessary equipment and can make use of the full survey window that exists within Namdapha National Park each year.

Welcome to the team Tajum

Further to this, we’ve been liaising with our partners within the National Park and are delighted to welcome Tajum Yomcha to our team. Tajum is the research officer at Namdapha National Park and his expertise and knowledge of the region will no doubt help us and complements the skills we already have within our team. We’re still on target with our original timeline, with an estimated start date for the expedition hopefully taking place in October or November this year.

Namdapha Flying Squirrel in the news

As well as the additional funding and capacity within the team, we’ve been trying to keep the public awareness of the project (which began with this crowdfunding campaign) going. As such, we’ve had a few new media pieces out, including this in the Indian express.

Small mammals are often underrepresented in conservation discussions and in terms of media attention, so keeping this project in the public eye, we hope, is a way of ensuring that threatened small mammal species such as the Namdapha Flying Squirrel, are not forgotten about. 

 

The author

Tom Dando

Tom Dando currently works as SMSG’s Programme Assistant, focusing primarily on fundraising for the Key Species programme of work.