Panthera United States

Wild Cat Species

— Puma
— Bobcat
— Canadian lynx
— Ocelot

In the United States we study and protect our iconic big cat - the puma - as well as it’s smaller cousin, the bobcat. Previously, our field work was based in the southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in and around Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where, in collaboration with Craighead Beringia South, Panthera’s Teton Cougar Project focused on collecting comprehensive data about the behavior and ecology of pumas over a 17-year period, simultaneous with wolf recolonization. Using satellite-GPS collars, motion-triggered cameras, and other novel research methods, our scientists tracked puma movements, recorded new behaviors in the wild, identified dens, and monitored kittens from an early age. Our bobcat research currently focuses primarily on New York State, where we are initiating a long-term bobcat study in late 2021 and we have plans to mitigate human-cat conflict in California.

Washington: The Olympic Cougar Project

The Olympic Cougar Project represents an important and exciting partnership between Panthera and six indigenous tribes, led by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, to study and protect pumas in the dense coniferous forests, glacier-clad mountains and rugged coastlines of Washington’s stunning Olympic Peninsula. Pumas, also called cougars locally, have lower genetic diversity on the Peninsula than in other areas of the state. Together we are establishing additional partnerships to continue towards our goal of increasing connectivity and genetic viability of these big cats.

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California: Bay Area Carnivore-Livestock Interactions Project

The Bay Area Carnivore-Livestock Interactions Project is a Panthera-led collaborative partnership with CSU Fort Collins, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, UC Cooperative Extension, UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, and others. Developed through extensive conversations with livestock producers in California’s Central Coast, this research and extension project is designed to find ways of reducing puma and coyote predation on livestock. The results from this effort will be used to design local livestock and wildlife management policies, and to develop effective tools for preventing livestock-carnivore conflict more broadly.

New York: Millfarm Bobcat Project

The New York Millfarm Bobcat Project is located in Columbia County, New York and is partnered with the Columbia Land Conservancy and over 15 local landowners. The project aims to understand bobcat ecology in an eastern rural landscape and use this information to develop a replicable monitoring protocol to inform bobcat management plans in New York State and other States along the eastern coast.

Montana: Applied Science and Conservation Genetics

Panthera staff based in Missoula, Montana work alongside the University of Montana. As part of the Applied Science Program, our scientists use genetics, GIS and other cutting-edge technology to understand the intricacies of wild cat biology and ecology.

Contact

General
info@panthera.org

Puma Program
Mark Elbroch, Ph.D., Director
melbroch@panthera.org

Small Cat Conservation Science
Wai-Ming Wong, Ph.D., Director
wwong@panthera.org

Applied Science
Hugh Robinson, Ph.D., Director
hrobinson@panthera.org

Conservation Genetics
Byron Weckworth, Ph.D., Director
bweckworth@panthera.org

Panthera Headquarters
8 W 40th Street, 18th floor
New York, NY 10018

Panthera Washington
504 E 8th Street, Suite C
Port Angeles, WA 98362

Panthera Montana
526 E. Front St.
Missoula, MT 59802