Debating mountain lion reports in the area

What do you do if you see a cougar?

This article discusses the controversy in Morris, Illinois, about whether or not cougars have returned to being native to the area- a controversy that exists in many areas east of the Mississippi River that for many years have not been considered native habitat for cougars. The author reports 3 separate cougar sitings in Illinois that he feels are valid.

His advice if you think you see a cougar?

1. Try to compare the cat to something nearby for perspective- how big is the animal? It's easy to over-estimate the size of an animal glimpsed only briefly.
2. Look for tracks.
   Carolina Tiger note: cougars are wild and dangerous, so please keep this is mind
3. Call your local Conservation Officer.
   Carolina Tiger note: Generally this information is available from the Department of Wildlife for your state.

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Tiger Day celebrations held in Vladivostok

"Tiger Day" was held today in Vladivostok, Russia to express citizens concern for the tiger's future. The event represents the biggest eco-celebration in the Russian Far East and is organized by the Phoenix Fund with government support and the support of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Russia, the WWF, the IFAW, and the Far East Development Fund.

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Top dog in saving big cats

Alan Rabinowitz of Mahopac in the Panthera offices in Manhattan. Rabinowitz leads the organization, which works to protect the world's big cats. (Carucha L. Meuse/The Journal News Carucha L. Meuse)


An exposé on leading big cat conservationist and founder of Panthera, Alan Rabinowitz.

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Hybrid Panthers Helping Rare Cat Rebound in Florida

Photograph courtesy Science/AAAS


The introduction of the Texan cougar genetics to the declining Florida panther population has been tremendously successful. Florida panthers are also a subspecies of cougar, but had started to become inbred as their population dwindled.

Eight cougars from Texas were released into the Florida swamplands in 1995, and the increased genetic diversity has vastly improved the health of the existing population.

The research was conducted by Stephen O'Brien, a geneticist at the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Maryland.

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Early reproduction retains fertility in cheetah females

Scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in Berlin have determined that reproduction in Namibian cheetahs is far better than previously thought, with approximately 80% of cheetah cubs reaching adulthood.

Cheetahs manage far better in Namibia than in other areas because they do not have to compete with lions or hyenas, which frequently kill cheetah young.

The scientists compared the fertility of captive cheetahs in large enclosures to that of free range cheetahs and concluded that normal reproductive behavior in young adults can affect long-term fertility.

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Run for the cheetahs in Hogle Zoo's Wild Stampede Oct. 2

Utah's Hogle Zoo and the Utah Chapter of the Association of American Zoo Keepers will host the Wild Stampede, a run and walk to raise money for Action for Cheetahs in Kenya (ACK) on Saturday, Oct. 2.

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TIGERS do not segregate on regional lines

Shomita Mukherjee, a wildcat expert and member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group and the Species Survival Commission, discusses when it is important to protect the integrity of tiger subspecies versus when isolating a breeding population encourages inbreeding.

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Coexisting with mountain lions...say what?!?

The Marin Humane Society is offering a free lecture on Tuesday evening to teach the public how to coexist peacefully with mountain lions.

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Lost tiger population discovered in Bhutan mountains

Motion-capture cameras have caught images of tigers living at higher elevations than ever suspected before in Bhutan, including images of a female with cubs! Alan Rabinowitz of Panthera suspected that the tigers might be living in the area and enlisted the help of cameraman Gordon Buchanan, who set up the cameras over a period of 3 months to discover the truth.

It is the only known place on earth to have tigers, leopards, and snow leopards sharing the same habitat. If Bhutan could be adequately protected for the tiger, it could become a source location for tigers to breed and spread to repopulate areas that have lost their tiger population.


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Article: BBC cameras capture rare glimpse of mountain tigers

A first: UP to get exclusive force to protect wildlife

The Uttar Pradesh Forest Department has rbeen tasked by the NTCA to set up a Wildlife Protection Force (WPF)to monitor poaching and prevent illegal logging. The force will receive training as extensive as that of the state police.

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Do our tigers have to die like this?

A tiger cub at Bannerghatta National Park near Bangalore, India, died on Saturday shortly following the death of another tiger in the park last week. Sources suggest the cause may have been meat tainted with salmonella and E.coli and fear the meat may have been sabotaged.

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Article:BBP declares emergency after death of tiger cub
Article:Another tiger cub dies in Bannerghata National Park
Article: Worst is now behind the Bannerghatta big cats, say experts
Article: 2 tigers still critically ill at Bannerghatta park
Article: MoEF wants explanation on tigers’ death

Slimy threat makes ministry nervous

An article out of New Zealand about the exotic animal smuggling industry. The article estimates that some 200 million exotic animals are legally imported into the US each year, and indicates that Americans are the biggest consumers of illegally traded animals in the world.

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UT Student Braves Costa Rican Wildlife with Volunteer Program

Johanna Reed goes to Costa Rica to volunteer as part of student program with Global Vision International (GVI) to assist in conservation research programs for jaguars and sea turtles.

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Apply for GVI program

Solitude of leopards

An overall view of big cats in India, including a discussion of differing spot patterns. Also commentary on a recent leopard attack on an Indian family and living in harmony with predators.

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Suriname rainforest yields possible new species

Conservation International has a project in Suriname to promote eco-tourism, train Surinamese students in data collection, and advise the government in creating a jaguar reserve.

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'Trophy lion' hunts unsustainable

A recent study by Craig Packer of the University of Minnesota has examined big cat "trophy hunting" in Tanzania, and concluded that the population of lions available for hunting is not sufficient for the quota that has been set to be sustained. The population of leopards has not been hurt as badly by this practice.

Tanzania currently allows about 500 lions and 400 leopards per year to be killed for sport across a total area of 300,000km².

The study suggests that the quota of lions hunted should be lowered and that only the oldest lions, past breeding age, be hunted. When male lions leading a pride are hunted, the male lion that succeeds the leadership of the pride will kill the offspring of the previous lion, further damaging the lion population.

Packer does congratulate the Tanzanian government for providing records on the hunting practice, as similar countries secretly allow the practice of trophy hunting.

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David Letterman Meets a Cheetah - and Learns What Cheetahs are Scared of

Jack Hanna brings a cheetah to the David Letterman show, and talks about how dogs are being used to conserve cheetah in the wild. Groups in Africa are training farmers to use the dogs to protect their livestock from the cheetah, so that farmers no longer have to kill cheetahs to prevent livestock predation

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Pilibhit attacks offer hope for big cat in Dudhwa

Forest officials in Pilibhit are hoping that a recent string of tiger attacks are indicating a rebound in the population of tigers there. Since May, 8 tiger attacks have been reported, thought to be caused by 4 identified tigers. The department hopes to tranquilize and relocate the animals.

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Pugmarks of man-mauling tiger seen in Khutar

A pug mark has been found between Puranpur and Khutar, India, that is thought to be the tiger that attacked and killed a man last week.

Experts and officials also suspect this is the same tiger thought to be responsible for 8 deaths and an additional attack within the past month. Their ordered objective is to tranquilize and capture the tiger.

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Article: Tiger injures man in Kheri village

Throw book at wildlife trader

Last week, 12 restaurants in Da Lat, Vietnam were raided for including illegal wildlife meat on their menus. The meat seized included binturong, civet, and clouded leopard meat as well as muntjac and sambar deer- a prey species of tigers. The source of the wildlife meat was traced back to a wildlife meat trader named Tu Loan. Tu Loan also operates a zoo and is suspected to be part of an international wildlife trafficking ring.

Dr. Scott Roberton the Vietnam representative of the Wildlife Conservation Society suggests that low staffing, lack of sufficient budget, and the many other excuses given for the state of wildlife trafficking are not nearly to blame as much as local government's reluctance to enforce rules.

Vietnam is touted as a hub for wildlife trafficking in southeast Asia.

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Article: Vietnam Raids Restaurants Selling Exotic Meats
Article: Crackdown on illegal wildlife trade in Vietnam

Plan endorses protection for elusive ocelot

Cat experts from the University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University and the Sky Island Alliance are hoping that global warming may draw more ocelots from northern Mexico back into the southeastern US. There are concerns that border fencing, intended to prevent humans from crossing the border, will limit the traffic of ocelots as well.

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Belizean jaguar populations 'well connected'

Researchers from the University of Southampton are finding that Belizean jaguars are roaming further than previously thought. This presents a conservation paradox- the fact that jaguars roam larger areas means that it is easier for their population to remain genetically diverse, but also means that there are more opportunities for jaguar/human conflict.

The researchers have also found that this is not the case with Belizean pumas (aka cougars). The pumas rarely leave the rainforest that serves as their stomping ground, and those territories are shrinking.

The study set up 178 motion capture cameras to catch photos of jaguars and pumas in Belize. The research suggests that pumas may be less tolerant of people than jaguars.

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Russia and China Set Up First Ever Transboundary Protected Area for Endangered Amur Tigers

Russian and Chinese officials have agreed to create the first transboundary protected area to protect the Amur tiger. The agreement was catalyzed by the efforts of the WWF.

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Farmworker lucky to be alive after attack by leopard

Elton Grobbelaar was recovering in the Greenacres Hospital yesterday after being attacked by a leopard on a Hankey farm at the weekend. Picture: GARETH WILSON



Elton Grobbelaar was hunting caracal on a farm in South Africa when he was attacked by a leopard. The leopard bit him in the face untl it was shot by a fellow hunter. Grobbelaar's left eye was damaged from the attack.

Leopards are a protected species in South Africa. A local leopard advocacy group believes the men were hunting the leopard and that it attacked when it was cornered. The group knows of 3 leopards that have been killed on the farm in the last 2 months.

A conservation department official suggests that an investigation is underway

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Indonesia to set aside 115,830 square miles for rare species

Forestry Ministry Zulkifli Hasan said the Indonesian government will protect 30 million hectares (approximately 74 million acres or 115,830 square miles, or an area slightly larger than Arizona) to protect the nation's endangered species such as the Sumatran tiger, the Javanese rhinoceros, and the orangutan.

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Tiger panel seeks report on forest road

The NTCA has asked for a report on a road widening project which would encroach on the buffer area of the Nameri Tiger Reserve.

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Dr. Luke Hunter on Zoo Talkin' Radio

Listen to internet radio with Zoo Peeps Creator on Blog Talk Radio

Dr. Luke Hunter, Executive Director of Panthera, talks about the issues that currently affect wildcat conservation, particularly the tiger.