FFI Vice President wins Wildlife Warrior award

FFI’s Vice President Rove McManus has won this year’s Wildlife Warrior award from Australia Zoo as recognition of his commitment to conservation. Rove is Australia’s most popular entertainer and talk show host. He became Vice President of FFI last year and has since visited several of our projects around the world.

The Wildlife Warrior Award is given to individuals who have demonstrated a strong dedication to wildlife conservation. It was established to honour the legacy left by Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin who was killed in a stingray attack in 2006. Steve was aware of FFI’s work and was a strong supporter of our Sumatran tiger project.

Australia zoo director Terri Irwin, who presented the award to Rove, said:
“I really admire Rove and his passion for conservation. He is one man who uses his personality and celebrity to raise awareness for worthy causes and he is bringing the issues of wildlife and wild places to mainstream Australia.”

The zoo’s international conservation manager and tiger department supervisor Giles Clark was the other recipient of the award. Giles has been extremely supportive of FFI’s Sumatran tiger and Asian elephant projects. He has also been involved in our ‘Answer the call’ campaign to recycle mobile phones in Australia.

FFI is proud that two of our strongest Australian supporters have won this prestigious award. Rove thanks Australia Zoo on behalf of FFI for their continued support. The zoo has recently confirmed its ongoing commitment to our Sumatran tiger and Asian elephant programmes.