Panthera

Panthera

 

"You don't see sick animals in the wild.  You don't see lame animals in the wild, and it's all because of the predator: the lion, the tiger, the leopard..."

 

- Tippi Hedren

Last month, I wrote a post about the Turtle Survival Alliance, one of my favorite conservation NGOs and one that I have supported in the past.  That got me thinking how there are a lot of excellent organizations out there doing a lot of good towards protecting wildlife around the world, and it would be worthwhile to highlight some of those.  This time, I thought I’d highlight one of the newer conservation non-profits: Panthera, devoted to the conservation of the world’s wild cats.

The big cats – lions and tigers, leopards and jaguars, snow leopards, cheetahs, and cougars – are among the most magnificent and charismatic species on our planet today.  They are also, to varying degrees, endangered.  Being apex predators, their positions in life are far from secure: not only are they threatened by hunting, but they also require large tracts of habitat to sustain themselves and their prey base.  With ecosystems are threatened or destroyed by human activity, the big cats are usually some of the first species to be affected.

Thankfully, the big cats are some of the most appealing and beloved of wild animals to many people (especially those not living in proximity to wild ones), and it has been easier to galvanize support for their conservation than it is for many other groups of animals.  Panthera is involved in field-based research and conservation on four continents to understand how big cats are being impacted by humans and what steps can be taken to ensure their survival.  For some species, such as the snow leopard, projects have largely focused on gathering data on elusive animals, little of which is known in the wild.  For other species, the emphasis has been on more immediate conservation solutions.  For example, a recent trend in South Africa among certain Christian sects has resulted in an increased demand in leopard fur.  Panthera has worked with local communities to encourage the use of realistic fake leopard fur, which it helps to distribute to these communities.

What is most refreshing about Panthera isn’t just its commitment – it’s the ambition that its leadership shows.  At a time when many conservationists scramble to hold onto the few remaining packets of wild lands left, Panthera dreams big.  While there are many scientists working with the cheetahs of Africa, Panthera leads research on the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah (once found across the Middle East and South Asia, now confined to Iran).  Working with the Iranian government and the United Nations (an advantage of being a non-governmental organization is that you can cross political lines that governments can’t), Panthera is working to increase our knowledge base of Asian cheetahs and find solutions to allow cheetahs and local peoples (especially herders) to coexist.

Panthera’s jaguar initiative is even bolder.  It visualizes a continuous corridor of jaguar habitat stretching across the entire range of the jaguar, from Mexico to Argentina.  Fragmentation and genetic isolation are some of the greatest threats to endangered species in the wild.  The goal of this project is to ensure that jaguar genes can flow freely from the Sonora Desert of northern Mexico southward to Patagonia.  Of course, no government (let alone several working together) will create one giant, multi-national park, barring humans and allowing the animals complete protection.  Instead, this plan relies heavily on private involvement, convincing landowners and communities to allow jaguars to pass unmolested through their lands.   Such a vision would seem impossible for many, until you realize that the world’s first jaguar preserve was created by Panthera’s CEO, Alan Rabinowitz.

Virtually all zoos (and a surprising number of aquariums) display at least one species of wild cat, big or small.  Seventeen species of felid, from massive lions and tigers to diminutive sand cats and black-footed cats, are managed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, with other species maintained in other zoos around the world.  Cats are some of the biggest draws when it comes to attracting visitors into our zoos; in other words, they have been good to us.  We should be good to them.  Every zoo or aquarium should make an effort to contribute in whatever way it can towards the conservation of species in the wild.  For those that display cats, especially the big ones, contributions to Panthera may be one of the best ways to make a difference.