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Big Cat Rescue
AdvoCat
Wildcats in the Wild • Our Mission, Their Future
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June 2026 • Vol. 30
The newsletter for people who take action for wild cats
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From Carole
This month, wild cats gave us a lot to think about. Some stories are hard. Poachers in South and Southeast Asia kill at least one tiger every single week. That is not a guess. Researchers tracked it. The killing never stops.
But there are also things worth celebrating. Kyrgyzstan set aside two million acres for snow leopards. A YouTube video led scientists to find sand cats living in Libya, a place no one had ever documented them before. In California, mountain lions showed us how one top predator can reshape an entire ecosystem, even a small one surrounded by suburbs.
That is what conservation looks like right now. Setbacks and wins, side by side. Your job as an AdvoCat is to stay informed, share what you learn, and keep the pressure on. Thank you for doing that.
For the cats,
Carole Baskin
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New Research
One Mountain Lion Can Reshape a Whole Ecosystem
June 26, 2026
Researchers at Stanford spent five years watching a small nature preserve outside San Francisco called Jasper Ridge. When mountain lions started visiting, everything changed. Deer became more careful. Young oak trees and shrubs grew back. Coyotes and bobcats pulled back. Gray foxes filled the gap they left. And where foxes rose, rabbits fell.
That chain of effects is called a trophic cascade. Scientists usually study it in wild, remote places like Yellowstone. Jasper Ridge is 1,200 acres of suburban land surrounded by development. The finding was a surprise: even a small patch of ground, connected to wild country nearby, can hold a full and living web of life when a top predator is present.
The lions did not have to kill many animals to cause this. The smell and sound of a mountain lion is enough to change how every other animal behaves. Scientists call this the ecology of fear. The data showed it at work in one of the most developed parts of California.
About 82 percent of protected areas in the United States are smaller than two square miles. For a long time, people assumed small preserves could not support serious ecological activity. This study says otherwise. When a small preserve connects to larger wild land, the big natural processes can still happen. Connection is the key. Protect the top predators, keep wild areas linked, and even a small patch of land can do a lot.
Read the full story at BigCatRescue.org →
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Big Win: Central Asia
Kyrgyzstan Just Built a 2-Million-Acre Highway for Snow Leopards
The Ak Ilbirs ecological corridor is now official. It covers nearly 800,000 hectares, about two million acres, of high-altitude mountain land in Kyrgyzstan. It links existing protected areas, pastureland, and forest across 14 rural communities so that snow leopards, argali sheep, and Asiatic ibex can move freely.
What makes this corridor different is that scientists designed it using climate models. They mapped where suitable habitat for snow leopards will be as temperatures rise. More than 60 percent of that future habitat falls inside the new corridor. It is built for tomorrow, not just today.
The corridor also supports the people who live there. Herders face limits on where and when they can graze livestock, but the project trades limits for help. Families are learning beekeeping, fruit orchards, and ecotourism as ways to earn income without large herds. When people benefit from healthy land, conservation works better for everyone.
Read more at BigCatRescue.org →
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Small Wild Cats
A YouTube Video Led Scientists to Sand Cats in Libya
June 26, 2026
In 2017, a wildlife photographer named Mohammad Almuntasir filmed a sand cat in the Libyan desert and posted it online. People did not believe him. Sand cats had never been documented in Libya. He said they were there.
He was right. A researcher named Firas Hayder saw the video, reached out to Almuntasir, and together they surveyed the area with help from local Tuareg communities. The result was the first confirmed records of sand cats in Libya. In one area alone, they counted 13 sightings. That spot may be a true stronghold for the species.
The sand cat is the only wild cat built to live in open desert. Its pale sandy coat makes it nearly invisible against the sand. Thick fur grows under its paws to protect them from hot ground. Those same traits that let it hide for so long also kept it out of the scientific record.
The survey also found the Saharan striped polecat in eight new locations. Both animals face pressure from the pet and traditional medicine trades. Researchers are calling for fast, focused protection work.
The lesson here is simple. Local knowledge matters. The people who live closest to wild animals often know things that visiting researchers miss. This discovery happened because one photographer shared what he saw, and someone listened.
Read more at BigCatRescue.org →
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Tiger Poaching
They Kill at Least One Tiger Every Week
Researchers analyzed records from multiple sources and found that poachers kill a minimum of one tiger per week across South and Southeast Asia. That is 52 tigers a year, at minimum. The actual number is likely higher, because many kills are never recorded.
These are not accidental deaths. Tigers are targeted for their bones, skins, and organs for illegal trade markets. A single tiger carcass can be worth tens of thousands of dollars. Poaching networks are organized and well-funded. Rangers on the ground are often outmatched in resources and equipment.
The scale of this problem requires international cooperation, better funding for anti-poaching teams, and enforcement of the laws that already exist. You can help by supporting organizations that fund ranger patrols and community-based protection programs.
Read the full report at BigCatRescue.org →
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Tigers
Bengal Tigers May Return to Cambodia
June 12, 2026
Wildlife officials and conservation groups are studying whether Bengal tigers could be reintroduced to parts of Cambodia where they once lived. Tigers vanished from the country decades ago. If reintroduction moves forward, it would be one of the most significant wild cat recovery efforts in Southeast Asia in a generation. Researchers are assessing prey populations, habitat quality, and community readiness.
Read more →
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Jaguars
Proyecto AAk Mahahual: Cameras Watching for Cats on the Yucatan Coast
June 14, 2026
Big Cat Rescue funds Proyecto AAk Mahahual in Mexico, a conservation group working to document and protect jaguars, ocelots, pumas, jaguarundis, and margays along the Yucatan Peninsula coastline. Trail cameras are capturing images of these cats moving through coastal forest habitats that connect to larger wild areas inland. The data helps map how cats use the landscape and where protection is most needed.
Read more →
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Small Wild Cats
Marbled Cat Conservation in Southeast Asia
May 29, 2026
The marbled cat is one of the least-studied wild cats in the world. BCR-funded researchers are working to change that. Camera traps set up across forest fragments in Southeast Asia have captured new images of this rare small wild cat. Researchers are using the data to understand how marbled cats move through landscapes increasingly broken up by roads and agriculture. Better data leads to better protection decisions.
Read more →
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Space Technology
Satellites Are Now Tracking Wild Cats from Space
June 11, 2026
ICARUS, the International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space, uses sensors on the International Space Station to track tagged animals around the globe. Conservation teams have been attaching lightweight trackers to large wild cats including tigers, lions, and jaguars. The data shows daily movement patterns, identifies where animals cross roads or leave protected land, and flags threats in near-real time. It is changing how researchers understand cat behavior at landscape scale.
Read more →
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Two Tiger Moms
Cameras Catch Wild Tiger Moms Raising Cubs in India
June 11, 2026
Trail cameras in two different Indian reserves captured footage of female Bengal tigers with cubs. Seeing two wild tiger mothers raising young at the same time in the same region is a sign that tiger conservation in those areas is working. Wild cats are incredibly private about their cubs. Getting camera footage of this behavior is rare and tells researchers that prey is available, habitat is good, and females feel safe enough to raise young.
Read more →
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BCR Funded
Freeland: Fighting Wildlife Trafficking at Its Source
June 2, 2026
Big Cat Rescue funds Freeland, an organization working directly to stop wildlife trafficking networks across Southeast Asia. Freeland trains local law enforcement, works undercover in illegal trade markets, and helps governments build cases against traffickers. Tigers, lions, leopards, snow leopards, and cheetahs all appear in Freeland's case files. The group is one of the most effective anti-poaching organizations in the region. Your support of BCR helps make their field work possible.
Learn about Freeland →
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| Jun 21 |
The Corbett Foundation
BCR-funded partner working in India to protect tigers and their habitat in the Corbett landscape.
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| Jun 13 |
The 120-Foot Cat in the Desert
A massive ancient geoglyph of a cat discovered in a South American desert highlights centuries of human-cat reverence.
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| Jun 11 |
Two Wild Tiger Moms
Trail cameras capture rare footage of two Bengal tiger mothers raising cubs in Indian reserves.
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| Jun 2 |
Freeland
BCR-funded anti-trafficking partner combating wildlife crime networks across Southeast Asia.
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| May 29 |
Marbled Cat Conservation
New camera trap data expands knowledge of the elusive marbled cat in Southeast Asian forests.
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Three Things You Can Do Right Now
You do not need to be a biologist or a lawmaker to help wild cats. Here is what works.
1. Share the tiger poaching story. Most people do not know one tiger dies every week. Tell them. Post it. Link to BigCatRescue.org.
2. Report violations of the Big Cat Public Safety Act. If you see public contact with big cats or cubs at a facility in the United States, report it to the USDA at 1-800-551-3247. The law is only as strong as enforcement.
3. Support BCR-funded field partners. Every dollar that reaches Freeland, Proyecto AAk, the Corbett Foundation, and our other partners goes directly to protecting wild cats where they live.
Stay informed at BigCatRescue.org/conservation-news. Every story there is written for you to share.
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