Coexisting with Cats: Insights into Our 2023 Annual Report

Our 2023 Annual Report is here! Maria Ferreira, Senior Manager of Individual Giving, discusses its contents and the many things Panthera achieved in 2023:

I have dedicated the majority of my career to the nonprofit sector, most of which has been in conservation. I have always been impressed by the passion and commitment of my colleagues, particularly those who spend days or weeks in the field conducting research, working hand-in-hand with local communities and implementing measures to protect vulnerable species that enrich our world. The staff at Panthera are no exception. As a new member of the Panthera team, I have been struck by the incredible resolve, passion and commitment demonstrated by staff, partners and communities who tirelessly strive to protect wild cats. 

This level of commitment is vital if we are to meet the challenges associated with ensuring the long-term viability of these vulnerable species. The conflict between wild cats, livestock and the human communities that rely on livestock for their livelihood is a serious challenge requiring a delicate approach to conservation. As civilization continues to encroach upon our planet's wilderness area, Panthera has doubled down on its work to foster human-cat coexistence.

When wild cats prey on livestock — such as cattle, sheep, and chickens — it can lead to substantial economic setbacks for residents. Achieving coexistence requires collaborative solutions that bolster community resilience while mitigating conflicts and preventing retaliatory actions against wild animals. 

For example, in Zambia, Panthera and conservation partners have implemented the “Halo Approach of Protection” a comprehensive program that uses GPS collars to carefully track and protect wild cats along their journeys through the Greater Kafue Ecosystem.  This technology helps us locate snares that need to be removed, discern where our partners should patrol to reduce poaching and alert communities when wild cats are in the area.

Community capacity building for conservation has also been essential. In addition to leading a wildlife values program in Zambia, Panthera has helped communities learn to coexist with a variety of wild cat species, such as Sunda clouded leopards in Malaysia and jaguars in Colombia's Llanos region.  

A few of our 2023 accomplishments include:  

• Enhanced our wildlife values program, incentivizing local communities to coexist with wild cats within the shared landscapes. To date, the program has engaged more than 2,500 households; 
• Achieved a remarkable 40 percent reduction in tiger poaching successes of Vietnamese, Thai and Cambodian poaching incursions in Malaysia, credited to the innovative tactics devised by SPARTA, PERHILITAN’s (Malaysia’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks) dedicated counter-poaching unit, working hand-in-hand with civilian scout teams; 
• Constructed a specialized lion release enclosure within Gabon’s Batéké Plateaux National Park, advancing our strategic lion reintroduction initiative; 
• Collaborated with the U.S. Government to design and implement a comprehensive four-week intensive training course on lion and leopard monitoring for 17 ecologists from the research division of the Zambian Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW); 
• Completed a decade's worth of data on clouded leopards and marbled cats, empowering scientists to discern population trends; 
• And much, much more.

Want to learn more about how Panthera and our conservation partners helped protect wild cats in 2023? Read our new Annual Report.