Colossal Foundation, Re:wild expand species reintroduction fund to seven projects
The second cohort of the Species Reintroduction Fund will support seven wildlife recovery projects across four continents, with annual funding of $250,000 and technical help.
The Colossal Foundation and Re:wild said their Species Reintroduction Fund will back seven wildlife recovery projects across four continents in its second cohort, with annual funding of $250,000 and grants of up to $50,000 per project.
The Dallas-based foundation said the program will support work in Cambodia, the United States, Brazil, Guatemala, Australia and Canada. The fund also provides genetic tools, emerging technologies, training and access to the broader conservation network behind the program, according to the Aug. 5, 2026, release.
The release says the current round drew nearly $5 million in partnership requests, about 20 times the fund’s annual budget. The foundation and Re:wild described the effort as the first fund in the world dedicated entirely to wildlife reintroduction and rewilding.
Context and background
The release says the fund launched in 2025 and that the second cohort expands the flagship program to seven new species recovery projects. The announcement says the work spans efforts to return threatened wildlife to safer wild habitats and support long-term population recovery.
The projects named in the release include banteng in Cambodia with Rising Phoenix, black-footed ferret in South Dakota with the Turner Institute of Ecoagriculture, brown howler monkey in Rio de Janeiro with Refauna, Campbell’s alligator lizard in Guatemala with FUNDESGUA, Guam kingfisher, also called Sihek, on Palmyra Atoll with The Nature Conservancy, and northern quoll in Queensland with Australian Wildlife Conservancy. The brief says a seventh project was not fully visible in the source text provided.
The release includes several project-specific details. It says Rising Phoenix has already relocated 32 banteng to Siem Pang Wildlife Sanctuary and plans to move more animals there. It says the black-footed ferret project aims to reintroduce up to 30 captive-bred ferrets in South Dakota. It says Refauna plans to release a new yellow-fever-vaccinated social group of brown howler monkeys and sequence the founders’ genomes. It says FUNDESGUA will propagate at least 10,000 native pine-oak and cloud-forest seedlings and restore more than 16 hectares. It says The Nature Conservancy plans a second release of nine Sihek birds this year after nine were released in 2024. It also says Australian Wildlife Conservancy will translocate up to 30 wild quolls into a 950-hectare feral-predator-free safe haven at Mount Zero-Taravale in north Queensland.
What officials said
Matt James, executive director of the Colossal Foundation, said the goal is to stop extinction before it starts and give reintroductions the best chance of long-term success, according to the release.
Barney Long, senior director of conservation strategies at Re:wild, said reintroduction projects need scientific grounding, long-term commitment, local leadership, collaboration and community support, the release said.
The release also attributes comments to project leaders and partner groups on the species work, but the brief does not provide a full verified quotation set beyond the statements above.
What happens next
The release says the funded teams will move ahead with their recovery plans this year, including translocations, releases, habitat restoration and monitoring. It does not provide a full timetable for every project in the source material provided.
Sources
Editorial note: This article was prepared with AI assistance and includes source attribution for reader review.
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