Thanks to the Ayers Wild Cat Conservation Trust, your gift will have twice the impact.
All donations to Panthera received between
November 22 – December 31
will be matched dollar-for-dollar.
Donating to Panthera is the best way for you to protect wild cats and the beautiful, biodiverse spaces in which they roam. Our initiatives are rooted in rigorous science, carried out by the world's top wild cat scientists and propelled by strong partnerships with Indigenous peoples, local communities and government agencies.
Panthera is exclusively devoted to conserving the world's 40 species of wild cats and the vast ecosystems they inhabit — but our work impacts much more than populations of these species. Protecting wild cats has a ripple effect on their habitat and the thousands of species they live alongside. Big cats are umbrella species due to their large ranges, meaning that their conservation helps protect other essential species that share these large ecosystems. Meanwhile, the world's 33 species of small wild cats are deemed indicator species because healthy populations of small cats indicate that their ecosystem is healthy and more resilient to threats like wildlife disease and natural disasters. Small cats have unique diets and habitat requirements and are sensitive to human-caused changes and disruption, which help us gauge ecosystem health.
Below are just a handful of our comprehensive projects. Your donation will help fund initiatives like these and enable us to continue to make demonstrable progress for global wild cat populations.
Our Tigers Forever program operates in seven tiger habitats carefully chosen for their strong recovery potential and connectivity between tiger populations. Within these sites, we help prevent the number one threat facing tigers: poaching for the illegal wildlife trade. To do this, we protect these precious habitats, partner with and build capacity of rangers and wildlife crime analysts, and collaborate with the communities living alongside tigers to foster coexistence to reduce human-cat conflict and retaliatory killings. Our Panthera-designed PoacherCams can monitor poaching activity in real-time and help provide alerts to authorities for a rapid response to intercept poaching incursions more effectively. We measure our progress by measuring tiger population density, size and the average survival of female tigers, which has increased in one forest complex in Thailand to 3.46 years, reflecting minimal poaching. Overall, the tiger population in six of Panthera's project sites, home to more than 300 tigers, is now stable.
Fishing cats are a threatened species that prefers to live near water sources, bringing them into close proximity with humans outside of protected areas in Thailand. As a carnivore, fishing cats have come into fatal conflicts with humans over fish and domestic chickens, which is exacerbated by the fact that law enforcement doesn’t have a strong presence outside of protected areas. To mitigate these threats and foster co-existence with local communities, we've implemented a comprehensive five-year plan that involves collaring a dozen fishing cats, strategically placing motion-activated cameras near waterways, fortified chicken coops and introduced local schools to conservation activities that highlight fishing cats and other vital wildlife. Our focus for the next year centers on the critical issue of land use and we are committed to collaborating with local communities to explore better, sustainable alternatives to selling land to developers. Protecting fishing cats not only helps ensure a future for this rare but important species, but also safeguards these fragile wetland ecosystems.
Home to around 7,000 jaguars, the Brazilian Pantanal has the one of the highest jaguar densities in the Tropical Americas and is a critically important stronghold for the species. Panthera's Jofre Velho Conservation Ranch implements five complementary regional projects that comprehensively protect the species. We monitor jaguars and have, alongside partners, collectively identified over 300 individuals and helped build their family lineages. We also develop coexistence between humans and cattle ranchers through anti-predation strategies, operate a local school for children (the only in the region), and promote ecotourism activities that create jobs (principally for women) and sustainable income outside of cattle ranching. Our impact in the Pantanal includes helping to generate $8-9 million USD in annual revenue through jaguar-oriented ecotourism, creating sustainable incomes that are up to 52 times higher than the projected jaguar losses caused by cattle predation in the same region and are more profitable than other economic opportunities.
Panthera also conducts a long-term ocelot research project to understand how this small wild cat navigates the Pantanal. This wetland is constantly changing, not only because of seasonal flooding but also human-driven landscape modification. Our research also aims to better understand ocelot prey species and disease ecology – including monitoring parasites and viruses that could jump between domestic and wild species. By gaining insight into ocelot and prey ecology, ecosystem dynamics, and health, we can better protect the wildlife and the human communities that live alongside them.
Photo Credits: Sebastian Kennerknecht, Andre Moratelli/Pantanal Jaguar Safaris, Karin Saucedo Photography, Sebastian Kennerknecht/Panthera, Lisa Antell, and Karin Saucedo
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© Sebastian Kennerknecht
