For this Earth Day 2021 I’d like to share the biggest idea I’ve ever had for saving the planet. In 1997 my daughter and Big Cat Rescue’s President, Jamie Veronica, then age 16, came to me with what was possibly the ugliest, scratchy brown, round, wooly thing I had ever seen. I wasn’t sure what it was, but she was brightly insisting that if we could figure out a way to sell them we could save the snow leopard in the wild. That actually worked and you can read more about it here: https://bigcatrescue.org/save-snow-leopards/ Briefly, the concept was to offer locals, who share habitat with snow leopards, a worldwide market for their handicrafts provided they protect the snow leopard in their region. Now, 20 years later, most wild cat populations have plummeted by 50-75% and are expected to decline by another 50% in the next few years…but not the snow leopard. Their numbers are improving because the only way to save wild animals in the wild is to incentivise those who must co-exist with them.
COVID-19 was the shared experience that is causing many people to rethink their choices and values and no matter where you are on the spectrum, you want clean air to breathe, clean water to drink and healthy food to eat. That’s only possible if we protect the life support system for our planet that includes vibrant ecosystems on land and sea. We will only choose different options in our lives if they provide us with what we want now at a price we are willing to pay. Consider this plan for monetizing forests, jungles, plains and fresh water sources and tell me if it is worth your personal choice “investments”.
https://youtu.be/U5bpWCI8s8k
I’ll be saying tiger, or big cats, or wild cats, but understand that none of these apex predators can survive in a broken ecosystem. Their very presence means that all of nature is in balance around them and that is the goal. All around the world, where people live in close proximity to wild cats, we can install Internet capable, live streaming, motion sensored, 360 or 180 3D cameras. (Ultimately 360 3D cameras) These would first be installed along known nature paths where the wildcats are known to travel, but could be expanded to den sites, river crossings, etc. as investments pour in. Local people would be hired to manage the cameras, keep the lenses clean (cats love to lick them), and keep undergrowth from blocking the view. Entire villages or cities would participate in a profit sharing scheme that insures there is plenty of prey available to sustain a healthy population of big cats. As in the snow leopard example above, any area that lost cats to poaching would also lose their profit share, so it essentially makes everyone an invested park ranger.
There are no simple answers that people will accept. The simple solutions are to quit over breeding the human population and quit consuming animals, but those willing to make those changes are still held hostage by those who will not. A virtual experience of wildlife is more complex, but more acceptable to all involved. The biggest threat to our existence is the demand for animal protein as it requires 2.5 pounds of grain and 1,799 gallons of water to create 1 pound of beef. This is the reason forests are burned, farmed irresponsibly and then abandoned once the top soil is depleted. There are many animal protein substitutes or lab grown derivatives, but they are not affordable to those who need them most; those who are destroying nature at an alarming rate to eek out an existence that is meager at best. If protecting natural resources provided more income than current, unsustainable practices, then we could quickly shift to a model that is sustainable locally and globally.
To pay for all of this infrastructure into Internet, cameras and jobs there could be subscription services. In order to subscribe to the feed you would have to buy crypto token coins that are integrated in the gateway to the cameras, so that the cameras “know” if the coin holder has current possession of the token. The purchase of each token would generate funds to the camera custodians in the area where these cats live free. All of that without a costly middleman. All of that functionality, using a smart contract, without having to convert currencies.
360 film can be experienced on phones and tablets and it requires us to get off the couch and walk around in order to see what is going on in the big cat’s world. Instead of a standard motion trap camera sending just a second or two of a cat passing, you now can see the whole landscape. You see the prey animal running past and know to look around to find who is in hot pursuit. Is it a friendly game of tag between youngsters, or lovers, or is it the real life or death drama of living in the wild? For those with head mounted displays, like the Oculus Quest, or HTC Vive, the viewer feels like they are right there in the middle of the action. It’s a visceral understanding of the challenges wildlife face and their irreplaceable contributions. There are many ways to monetize these streaming cameras through ads, sponsorships by conservationists, targeted merchandising and enabling real time, real world tips to those in the field who are insuring the cameras are getting the most spectacular views day and night.
https://bigcatrescue.salsalabs.org/AnnualAppeal2022/index.html
Big Cat Rescue has many live web cams at the sanctuary and they have given us and our viewers a glimpse into the lives of these cats who cannot be set free since they were born in captivity and handled by humans. They have amazing low light capacity and some are driven by remote camera operators, in order to see the best views, while other cheaper cameras are stationary. None of ours are the 360 streaming type that I dream of, but the smart people at Iconic Engine tell me that it does already exist! Entire fan groups have built up in our social platforms around watching these cameras, and sharing their favorite screenshots and moments. This all started with a little Logitech webcam streaming through a computer on UStream.com in 2010 when a broken bobcat named Skip was being monitored in our on site hospital. He was the first wildcat to have his own live streaming show and had more than 200 fans on Facebook and more than 36,000 views in the first two weeks of his convalescence. Now those live webcam fans number somewhere around 5 million across our platforms and the views are in the hundreds of millions. You can see all of our cameras at BigCatCams.com
I would like to donate to Big Cat Rescue but I do not have a credit card. My experience with credit cards wasn’t a positive one. Can I send a check or money order instead? I love Tigers and Lions and Bobcats (Bobcats are SO CUTE!) and I want to thank BCR for their preservation efforts to save these wild Big Cats! I used to have a subscription to Ranger Rick and National Geographic World magazines in the 1970s and ’80s. I love the Natural World (always have), but Humanity is destroying our planet we all share. I would like to help the Big Cats in their survival. I have watched and commented on many videos showing various Big Cats being rescued, rehabilitated, and enjoying their new spacious homes. The Big Cats also love eating Thanksgiving turkeys and sweets (birthday cakes!).I want to save Big Cats from extinction! How can I do this? How can I help? Thank you!
here is one organization doing something positive: (https://www.bornfree.org.uk/)
On 15th December, 2022, at the prestigious Royal Geographical Society in London, Born Free will host Beyond Trophy Hunting, an event to explore viable alternatives to trophy hunting that can secure meaningful jobs, enhanced economic benefits, and help conserve land where people and wildlife can co-exist without some of the world’s most iconic species, such as lions, elephants, giraffe and rhino, paying for it with their lives.
What would Big Cat Rescue say about allowing small domestic cat pet rescues somehow use #$cat as a payment method and somehow a funding source in the future to save mini kitty lives???
I had a idea like this months ago for my best friends Rescue “Cuddle Cat Rescue” in Hannibal Missouri. I just don’t really have the technical knowhow to make a crypto currency.
Anyone can use the $currency for any reason. There’s nothing that forces it to be hers or only hers. ..however, she is provided a grant of 50,000 coin as genesis coin, so she starts off in better shape.
You would need to implement systems or methods of tracking payments of course..at your expense. ..and since it’s an ERC20 token, the gas fees will basically eat your use case alive. Pardon the pun.
So.. you can.. but will it be effective due to gas fees and exchanges..etc etc.. probably not.
AKA: Do your own math to see if it is a viable plan.