Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Location	Burma
Nearest city	Tanai
Coordinates	26°26′18″N 96°33′32″E / 26.43833°N 96.55889°E / 26.43833; 96.55889Coordinates: 26°26′18″N 96°33′32″E / 26.43833°N 96.55889°E / 26.43833; 96.55889
Area	21,890 square kilometres (8,452 sq mi)
Established	1 May 2003
Governing body	Ministry of Forestry

Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve (Burmese: ဟူကောင်း ကျား ထိန်းသိမ်းရေး နယ်မြေ [hùkáʊɴ tɕá tʰéɪɴ θéɪɴ jé nɛ̀ mjè]) is a wildlife reserve located in Hukawng Valley, near Tanai in Myitkyina District of Kachin State, Burma (Myanmar). Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve covers 21890 km². The Burmese government has also designated 6500 km² of the valley as the protected forest reserve. It is the world's largest tiger reserve.^[1]

According to a report by the Wildlife Conservation Society released in October 2010, only 50 tigers remain in Hukawng valley. (Only some 3,500 tigers are left in the world, of which, just over 1,000 are females that can give birth.) The reserve also consists of 35 kinds of mammals such as tiger, leopard, elephant, bear and species of monkeys, over 370 species of birds, 46 species of frogs, 37 species of fresh water fish, four species of turtle, species of butterflies and 13,500 plant species.^[1]

References[link]

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Alan Robert Rabinowitz
Alan Rabinowitz at the PopTech 2010.
Born	December 31, 1953 Brooklyn, New York
Fields	Biologist, conservationist
Institutions	CEO of Panthera
Known for	Wild cat conservation
Notable awards	International Wildlife Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award (2008)[1]

Alan Robert Rabinowitz (b. December 31, 1953) is an American zoologist, conservationist, and field biologist and the CEO of Panthera, a nonprofit conservation organization devoted to protecting the world's 37 wild cat species. Called the "Indiana Jones of Wildlife Protection" by Time, Rabinowitz has studied jaguars, clouded leopards, Asiatic leopards, tigers, Sumatran rhinos, bears, leopard cats, raccoons, and civets.^[2] Today, Rabinowitz’s work focuses on conserving the world’s largest, most imperiled cats—tigers, lions, jaguars, and snow leopards—and their habitats.^[3]

Early life[link]

Rabinowitz grew up in Brooklyn, New York. In grade school, he was placed in a special education class due to a severe stutter; which often caused his body to twist and spasm when attempting to speak.^[4] Unable to communicate with his peers and teachers, Rabinowitz became interested in wildlife, to which he could speak. At this point, Rabinowitz made a promise to animals that if he ever found his voice, he would use it to speak in their defense.^[5]

Today, Rabinowitz frequently shares this childhood story in interviews, lectures, books and other publications to explain how he became interested in wildlife conservation.^{[6] [7]} In 2008, the video of Dr. Rabinowitz telling this story on The Colbert Report went viral, largely because it nearly brought the show's host, Stephen Colbert, to tears.^[8] Today, Rabinowitz serves as a spokesperson for The Stuttering Foundation (SFA).^[9]

Conservation career[link]

In 1974, Rabinowitz received his Bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. Rabinowitz later attended the University of Tennessee, receiving his M.S. and Ph.D. in ecology in 1978 and 1981, respectively.

Prior to co-founding Panthera with the organization's Chairman, Dr. Thomas S. Kaplan, in 2006, Rabinowitz served as the Executive Director of the Science and Exploration Division for the Wildlife Conservation Society, where he worked for nearly 30 years.

While working in Myanmar's Hukaung Valley in 1997, Rabinowitz discovered four new species of mammals, including the most primitive deer species in the world, Muntiacus putaoensis, or the leaf deer.^[10] Rabinowitz's work in Myanmar led to the creation of five new protected wildlife areas, including the country's first marine park, Lampi Island National Park; Myanmar's first and largest Himalayan national park, Hkakaborazi National Park; the country's largest wildlife sanctuary, Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary; the world's largest tiger reserve and one of the largest protected areas in the world, Hukaung Valley Tiger Reserve, and Hponkhan Razi National Park, an area which connects Hukaung Valley and Hkakabo Razi for a contiguous protected area of more than 5,000 square miles, called the Northern Forest Complex.^[11]

Rabinowitz also established the world's first jaguar sanctuary ^[12] — the Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Preserve— in Belize and the Tawu Mountain Nature Reserve, Taiwan's largest protected area and last piece of intact lowland forest.^[13] In Thailand, he conducted the first field research on Indochinese tigers, Asiatic leopards, and Asian leopard cats, leading to the designation of the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary as a UNESCO world biosphere reserve.^[14]

One of Dr. Rabinowitz's greatest achievements was the conceptualization and implementation of the Jaguar Corridor,^[15] a series of biological and genetic corridors for jaguars across their entire range from Mexico to Argentina. Dr. Rabinowitz also initiated Panthera's Tiger Corridor Initiative, an effort to identify and protect the world's last remaining large interconnected tiger landscapes, with a primary focus on the remote and rugged Indo-Himalayan region of Asia.^[16]

Rabinowitz's project to establish a chain of protected tiger habitat across the southern Himalaya was the focus of the BBC Natural History Unit's 2010 documentary series Lost Land of the Tiger. An expedition team spent a month investigating the status of big cats in Bhutan, leading to the discovery of tigers living at much higher altitudes than previously realized.^[17]

Today, Rabinowitz serves as the CEO of Panthera, where he oversees the organization's range-wide conservation programs focused on tigers, lions, jaguars, and snow leopards and additional projects devoted to the protection of cougars, cheetahs, and leopards.^[18]

Awards[link]

As a distinguished leader within the conservation field, Rabinowitz has received numerous wildlife awards, including:

2004: Our Time Theatre Company Award^[19]

2004: Lowell Thomas Award – New York Explorer’s Club^[20]

2005: George Rabb Conservation Award – Chicago Zoological Society^[21]

2005: Flying Elephant Foundation Award^[22]

2006: Kaplan Big Cat Lifetime Achievement Award^[23]

2008: International Wildlife Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award^[24]

2010: Cincinnati Zoo Wildlife Conservation Award

2011: Jackson Hole Lifetime Achievement Award in Conservation^[25]

Books[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Panthera
• Alan Rabinowitz: Man & Beast - podcast from the Moth in which Rabinowitz describes growing up as a stutterer, and how it inspired his work