The BigCatsWildCats Blog focuses on wild cats and their conservation, providing updates and articles on big cats, such as lions, tigers, and leopards, as well as the lesser-known small wild cats, like the sand cat, Pallas’s cat and margay. We also cover regional news from around the world, detailing conservation efforts, challenges, and progress in protecting these species.
This film exposes the ugly truth behind South Africa's canned lion hunting industry. It will premiere at the Durban International Film Festival on July 22, 2015. In South Africa there are some 10,000 lions and the numbers are increasing all the time. But the lie...
On July 6, 2015 the Discovery Channel premiered a new Asiatic lion documentary "India's Wandering Lions". The lions were tracked and filmed for over 3 years. Today, the Indian lion population has rebounded to a population of over 400 – a cause for celebration....
Last month, a pair of Iberian lynxes were reintroduced into the wild in Portugal. The reintroduction took place in the Guadiana Valley Natural Park, situated in the southeastern part of the country. This is the first time the small wild cat has been released in...
Owning a cheetah has become a status symbol in the Middle East, according to the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), who warns their popularity as a “hot new luxury pet” is putting wild cheetah populations at greater risk – and possibly extinction....
A Zulu church has begun using faux leopard fur in traditional religious rituals. The use of leopard skins has been part of the Shembe religion for over a century. “The leopard skin has got a significance because it shows power,” said Lizwi Ncwane, spokesman for the...
African cheetah populations are small and fragmented. From Pieter's Blog at LionAid.org, a report on the illegal trade of cheetahs and their "uncertain future." LIONAID: A recent poster by the Rangewide Conservation Program for Cheetahs and African Wild Dogs (RWCP)...
While studying snow leopards, researchers from the Annapurna Area Conservation Project have photographed a Pallas’s cat. According to a report by the Himalayan News Service, fourteen pictures of the cat were taken by 11 cameras that had been set up above the village...
It was recently reported that there are less than 400 wild lions in West Africa. In this story, Panthera talks about a possible "silver lining" for this critically endangered species. The Silver Lining for the Lions of West Africa was originally published at...
A family of Asiatic cheetahs has been spotted in Iran’s Turan national park. The mother and four cubs were discovered by conservationists at the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation. The Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) also called the Iranian cheetah, is...
In an article written in the Oryx journal, researchers are reporting that the African lion population in Uganda has decreased more than 30 percent over the past 10 years. Reasons for the decline include "...poisoning by local cattle herders, retaliation for livestock...