In 2019, Jon suffered a catastrophic accident that left him a quadriplegic. As a matter of course, this marked a turning point in so many realms of our lives. For one, Jon chose to relinquish a nearly two decade career creating a great commercial enterprise dedicated to improving the health of our beloved family pets. Achieving the level of success we reached in this venture, including personal financial wealth, was something we never dreamed possible.

Now, as we continue to adjust to our new lives, we are finding purpose and passion in applying our talents and financial resources to supporting a different breed of animal: those of the wild. In other words, we are evolving from a focus on capital accumulation to capital distribution, in support of our planet. Our joining the Giving Pledge in 2021 is a natural outgrowth of our new direction and focus.

In harmony with humanity’s most pressing priorities, we believe it is critically important to conserve the planet’s natural biodiversity, particularly where nature serves as a rich carbon sink. Shining a spotlight on the importance of nature for its inherent value, as well as its role in counteracting climate change, is paramount for all life to not just survive, but thrive. As Dr. Jane Goodall teaches us, “to conserve our natural world is to conserve our human species.”

With a background in biology, Jon is innately drawn to species conservation. Of course, to protect a species you must protect its entire, complex ecosystem. Believing that focus leads to impact, we chose to focus on conservation of the felidae family, comprised of the world’s 40 species of wild cats, whose ranges cover nearly one third of Earth’s terrestrial surface.

While we exalt wild cats for their power, beauty and resilience – being true evolutionary marvels of 11 million years – they also provide a compelling vehicle for biodiversity conservation. Cats reside at the top of the food chain. When these apex predators are healthy and plentiful, entire ecosystems upon which they and human communities depend, by definition, are also healthy. In this way, wild cats are an indicator species for biodiversity vibrancy. Lions and leopards play this role in Africa, tigers in key landscapes of Asia and jaguars in the rich rainforests of Central and South America.

Importantly, big cats can be counted, providing an objective metric on the success of protection efforts. As in business, there is great value to specific, measurable and relevant indicators of conservation success provided by these species.

But to measure our success we must take stock of our failures, too. While they are synonymous with Africa, wild lion populations have declined by 50% in the 25 years separating the first Lion King movie (released in 1994) and the most recent remake. To combat this decline, we have recently become the largest private supporters of lion conservation in the world. We need and must recruit many larger than ourselves.

The opportunities abound. The ‘Emerald Edge’ extending along the Pacific Coast between the United States and Canada is home to the largest intact coastal rainforest on Earth and one of the planet’s most productive carbon sinks. Here, mountain lions reign as apex predators. We support wild cat conservation work in partnership with indigenous peoples of Washington State, where the cougar is embedded in the history and cultures of Tribal Nations.

Looking East, at arguably the most iconic species alive, the tiger numbers fewer than 3,900 in the wild and will most certainly reach the throes of extinction on our watch without continued focus.

Conservation needs like this span the 40 wild cat species across five continents.

While not the only conservation NGO where we provide major intellectual and financial support, Panthera recently elected Jon as Board Chair. The founder, Tom Kaplan, cited our family’s passion and extraordinary commitment in recognizing Jon as his “ideal” successor. Our missions in life are identical, with Panthera being devoted exclusively to the preservation of wild cats and their landscapes around the world.

Humanity has a limited amount of time to turn the tide and make conservation of nature an unwavering societal priority. It is an altogether achievable mission, if approached with adequate resources using the best practices learned in recent years. We Pledge to Give our talents and resources to preserving the feline guardians of nature, the biodiversity that their landscapes represent, and upon which the planet depends.

Jon and Helaine Ayers