Save the big cats campaign
Your Support is important
Sign Our Petition!
The term Big Cat according to various organizations includes only the Panthera genus with its five species, namely the tiger, the leopard, the lion, the jaguar, and the snow leopard. But others also include the cheetah and the puma in this group.
They live in countries stretching the globe, from the highlands of Russia, Mongolia, Central Asia and India, through Africa, North, Central and South America.
The problem
The coexistence of big cats and humans faces significant challenges. Negative perceptions of big cats as dangerous hinder conservation efforts, compounded by habitat loss from agriculture, palm oil plantations, and infrastructure development. Poaching, driven by demand for Traditional Chinese Medicine and luxury goods like fur, threatens species like tigers, leopards, lions, and snow leopards. Additionally, lions and tigers are bred for tourist attractions, disrupting natural behaviours, and trophy hunting offers no conservation benefits.
Enviromental consequences
According to the 2015 IUCN report, five tiger species are extinct or regionally extinct, while the rest vary from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered. Big cats are essential for ecosystem balance, acting as keystone predators. If any species were to go extinct, it would disrupt ecosystems, impacting species diversity and abundance.
Possible Solutions
To reduce hunting, big cats are protected and monitored in designated areas. Ranger training, equipment funding, and intelligence networks aid in targeting critical areas. Protecting prey populations can mitigate attacks on livestock, and monitoring legal hunting in unprotected areas is crucial. Relocating humans or big cats and educating communities near habitats can minimise conflicts. Campaigns against the use of big cat parts in Chinese medicine can greatly reduce poaching.
WSF’s Activities and Initiatives
The World Sustainability Foundation’s Friend of the Earth project provides financial support for the Snow Leopard Trust (SLT), the only organization dedicated to snow leopard species conservation in 5 key countries in Asia. Its habitat coincides with a mountainous and rocky territory, impervious for researchers to explore and protect.
We’re raising funds to support the Snow Leopard Trust’s initiatives, including placing camera traps in Mongolian mountains to gather crucial data on snow leopards for conservation efforts.
Call to action
- Sign Friend of the Earth Change.org petition to ban sale of tiger-based products.
- Choose Friend of the Earth certified products from sustainable agriculture.
- Promote awareness and fund selected onsite projects to protect endangered big cats.
References:
- Quora: https://www.quora.com/Are-Snow-Leopards-considered-as-big-cats
- Big Cat Allies: http://www.bigcatallies.org/programs/wild/
- IUCN: http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=74
- Society for Conservation Biology: https://conbio.org/publications/scb-news-blog/the-importance-of-big-cats
- Big Cat Allies: http://www.bigcatallies.org/programs/wild/
