Asia

As the largest cat species, wild tigers embody the importance of big cats to their ecosystems. But with only about 4,500 remaining, coexisting with these carnivores is more important than ever. In this blog, Dr. Abishek Harihar, Panthera Tiger Program Director, details what we are doing to conserve the world’s largest big cat.

في خطوة كبيرة نحو تعزيز جهود الحفاظ على الحياة البرية في المملكة العربية السعودية، يسر بانثيرا أن تعلن عن إنشاء "بانثيرا السعودية". وتمثل هذه الخطوة الهامة محطة محورية في مهمتنا لحماية القطط البرية في العالم وموائلها، حيث تتوسع أنشطتنا بهذه الخطوة لتشمل المملكة العربية السعودية وشبه الجزيرة العربية. 

In a monumental stride towards advancing wildlife conservation efforts in Saudi Arabia, Panthera is proud to announce the establishment of Panthera Saudi Arabia. This significant development marks a pivotal moment in our mission to protect the world’s wild cats and their habitats, now extending our reach into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula.  

Late last year, Panthera and our partner researchers got a great bit of news from one of their motion-activated cameras located deep in the jungles of Thailand. A flash of light showed the presence of three tiger cubs, healthily walking alongside their mother. Read on to learn from Dr. Rattapan Pattanarangsan, Panthera Thailand Conservation Program Manager, about the importance of these three rare Indochinese tigers and what Panthera and our partners have accomplished in the region. 

Around the world, mammals, birds, fish and other species are disappearing before our very eyes. Habitat destruction, climate change, poaching, pollution and human-wildlife conflict are driving as many as three species to extinction every hour. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) manages a staggering list of over 44,000 species threatened with extinction. Five wild cats (one-eighth of all wild feline species) are officially listed as “Endangered”:

The dense, green, tropical jungles of Malaysia are under threat. On Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo, jungle landscapes home to orangutans, elephants and many wild cat species are teetering towards collapse. 

Jumping high into the air, one of the world’s most recognizable small cat species brings down a bird in flight. It’ll make a hearty meal for a hungry caracal — a small cat certainly worthy of a spotlight. This small cat, which ranges across much of Africa and West Asia, is one of the most adept and geographically widespread small cat species in the world — which also means it comes into conflict with humans. Read all about caracal biology below.

Since 2022, Panthera has been fitting fishing cats with GPS collars in the area in and around Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, Thailand. This important wildlife habitat is also highly fragmented by human developments, including fishponds and shrimp farms. Because of this, fishing cats here face challenges to their survival and are listed as “Vulnerable” by the IUCN Red List.

Wild cats are notoriously difficult to study for numerous reasons, including the remote, rugged nature of their habitats that often expand across incredibly broad distributions, the rarity of certain species and their elusive nature. Despite these challenges, Panthera researchers traverse inhospitable terrain, from mountainous regions with waist-deep snow to dense tropical rainforests that can only be navigated on foot. 

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.