6 international conservationists named finalists for $250,000 Indianapolis Prize

6 international conservationists named finalists for $250,000 Indianapolis Prize

Champions of birds, primates and sea life are among six finalists for this year's $250,000 Indianapolis prize for animal conservation.

The Indianapolis Zoo announced Thursday the finalists include Conservation International's Russell Mittermeier, who developed one of the first global primate conservation strategies; the Blue Ocean Institute's Carl Safina, a leader in banning high-seas drift nets; and the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust' Carl Jones, who has saved Mauritius kestrels, echo parakeets and other species.

The others are Stony Brook University's Patricia Wright, who found Madagascar's golden bamboo lemur, once thought to be extinct; the Wildlife Conservation Society's Joel Berger, whose helped create Wyoming's federally protected Path of the Pronghorn; and Gerardo Ceballos, a leader in passing Mexico's Act for Endangered Species.

The winner will be announced in mid-2014.

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