Foundations led by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jeff Bezos have launched the Phoenix Species Project, committing $200 million to save 100 of Earth's most critically endangered species. The initiative, co-funded by DiCaprio's Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund, represents the largest single fund dedicated exclusively to species recovery.

The project emerged from meetings between DiCaprio, Re:wild co-founder Wes Sechrest, and Bezos with his wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos. It aims to provide long-term support for species including the golden-crowned sifaka, Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander, Visayan warty pig, Malayan pangolin, and Attenborough's long-beaked echidna.

The funding will sustain successful but underfunded conservation efforts, providing the resources these species deserve to thrive. As Tiana Andriamanana of Association Fanamby noted, this global platform and technical support 'change what is possible' for species facing extinction due to habitat loss and climate change.