Africa

The beauty and allure of wild cats is a paradox. On one hand, it makes them powerful ambassadors for biodiversity conservation through public awareness and education initiatives. Leveraging the charismatic appeal of these iconic species, conservation organizations can highlight their roles as key indicators of ecosystem health, which also benefits their habitats and the other species they live alongside. On the other hand, admiration for wild cats has led humans to target them for their skin, teeth, bones and organs.

Learn all about why, when and how male lions form coalitions as well as insight into the importance this phenomenon has for wild cat conservation. 

Wild cats have a reputation for being solitary. But there are exceptions to this rule, most notably amongst cheetahs and, of course, lions. For the largest cats roaming Africa’s plains, fraternal alliances are key to successfully passing on their genes.

Although most attention and conservation funding are dedicated to big cats, there are 33 equally fascinating and striking species of small wild cats. Many are a mere fraction of the size of the largest male tigers, which can weigh over 600 pounds and take down prey as large as wild buffalo and even bears.

Wild cats are highly adaptable, but poaching for the illegal wildlife trade, habitat degradation and conflict with humans are threatening their survival. Seventy percent of the world’s big cat species are listed as Endangered (facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild) or Vulnerable (facing a high risk of extinction in the wild) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, while nearly 40 percent of the world’s 33 small cat species have the same classification.

In the heart of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, a chilling scene unfolded one cold autumn morning in 2019. Two female leopards, Nanga and Xidulu, were locked in a heated stand-off. After Xidulu had retreated some distance and reunited with her young cubs, one of them strayed too far from her side. In a swift and merciless attack, Nanga seized the opportunity, biting the cub behind its head and killing it instantly. The surviving cub managed to flee to safety while Xidulu chased Nanga away.

Last month, our team had the incredible fortune of discovering a den of four-day-old lion cubs nestled in the heart of Kafue National Park. This heartwarming sight served as a powerful confirmation that our dedicated efforts to help lions in the park are yielding positive results. Later, when a nearby fire threatened the den, we intervened to save the cubs, bolstered by the progress we were making.

With the dire threats of poaching and the illegal wildlife trade facing some of the world’s most iconic wild cats, a dedicated team on the ground is needed to protect them. Luckily, Panthera has assembled a committed group of researchers and rangers to safeguard highly threatened cats such as tigers from poaching. We spoke with Dr. Robert Pickles, Panthera Counter-Wildlife Crime Research & Analytics Lead, to discuss poaching, the illegal wildlife trade and the challenges they pose to wild cats. 

Answering the question: Do lions experience fear?

When a lion comes to mind, you may imagine an animal more fierce, brave and powerful than any other on the African savanna — a species that has evolved to be the perfect hunter and fears no one. While this is mostly accurate, it turns out that even “the king of the jungle” experiences fear and weighs the risks and rewards of their interactions with other species. 

Nine cubs. That’s the number of offspring it takes to restore approximately one-third of the population of Critically Endangered West African lions in Senegal’s Niokolo-Koba National Park — some of the last remaining lions in West Africa. Nine cubs can go a long way — and one mother can go even further. 

What do you know about sand cats? Learn more about these small cats from Panthera scientist Grégory Breton as he documents his study of them in Morocco’s deserts — in the first-ever telemetry study of these little-researched small cats.