2019 Saving Wild Places for Wild Cats
In 2019 Big Cat Rescue donated $136,600.00 to conservation programs in the wild, benefiting 18 Wild Cat Species. Click the pins on the map, or the species on the left, to get all of the details!Santa Monica Mountains Fund




Bay Area Bobcats

The Bay Area Bobcat Study aims to look at how human development and habitat fragmentation affects bobcat populations, population status, mortality factors, and health, all of which have not been evaluated in depth for the region. This study will track bobcat movement through fragmented landscapes and identify barriers that hinder juvenile dispersal within bobcat metapopulations. Combining telemetry and conducting field camera research will reveal where bobcat juveniles are dispersing, and how bobcats are moving on the landscape. By gaining this information felidae will be able to make plans for conservation including informed recommendations to land managers and roadway engineers, concerning wildlife corridors and crossing structures.
You can read more about the project here: http://www.felidaefund.org/?q=bay-area-bobcats-page
Bay Area Puma Project (BAPP)
The Bay Area Puma Project (BAPP) is the first large scale research, education and conservation program for pumas in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. BAPP’s primary goal is to increase knowledge, understanding and awareness about Bay Area puma populations, in order to promote better co-existence and less conflict between humans and pumas in the region, and ultimately to help foster a more harmonious relationship between humans and the natural world.
As the top predator in the natural spaces around the Bay Area, the puma plays a critical role in maintaining the health and balance of our local ecosystems. However human development is rapidly encroaching on puma habitat, creating mounting problems that include habitat fragmentation and corridor loss, increasing anxiety in local communities due to puma encounters, and more human-puma conflicts involving roads, livestock, and depredation.
You can read more about the project here: http://www.felidaefund.org/?q=bay-area-puma-project-page
David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

The duties of wildlife rangers can include:
• Carrying out anti-poaching patrols
• Locating and removing wildlife snares
• Collecting vital data on endangered species and habitats
• Responding to emergency reports of wildlife crime, by poachers who are often heavily armed
• Gathering important intelligence on criminal activity to help combat wildlife crime
The David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSWF) helps support rangers across Africa and Asia – from the mountains of Mongolia, to the forests of Russia and the wild plains of Africa. DSWF directly funds projects that support rangers in their daily roles, helping to ensure they get the vital field equipment and level of training they need.
You can read more about their work here: https://davidshepherd.org/our-work/wildlife-rangers
Combatting Illegal Wildlife Trade in Democratic Republic Congo

The African leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the five extant species in the genus Panthera, a member of the Felidae. Leopards are at risk of extinction across their African and Asian range, having suffered a population decline in sub-Saharan Africa of more than 30 percent in the past 25 years, in part due to unsustainable trophy hunting but also general poaching.
Leopards are hunted illegally, and their body parts are smuggled in the wildlife trade for medicinal practices and decoration.As a result of their association with kings in Africa, the leopard’s pelt is often seen today as a symbol of aristocratic rank, chiefs using it as a part of their traditional regalia. Its meat is also highly favored by the privileged elite class in African Society, which believes it is a symbol of status, power and privilege. Some people go a step further and even associate the consumption of its meat to having health benefits even though very little proof has been produced regarding this speculation.
In Asia, the skin besides other uses, it is also used in wineries and whisky distilleries, where certain body parts are essential ingredients to making highly sought after and costly alcoholic beverages The Panthera pardus is listed on CITES Appendix I, which prohibits international trade for commercial purposes, but this international agreement does not prohibit trade in hunting trophies and also does not guarantee a complete protection against money seeking traffickers.
Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Conga being a wildlife trafficking haven in the region, remains flooded by leopards skins from other provinces in the country and also from neighboring countries. At any given moment in Kinshasa there could be not less than 20 leopards skins for sale under our investigations. The influx of leopard skins, bones and meat are a results of the dire demand from the fashion industry, the traditional beliefs both in Africa and Asia. Its skin is used for luxury home décor, fashion accessories, as rugs, seat covers and taxidermy specimens. Bones are used in traditional Chinese medicine products, including well-known Chinese brands that have been seized and tested in Australia and other countries, while teeth are sold as increasingly expensive jewelry items. A single piece of an adult leopard skin can scoop up to a 1000 US dollars on the local market in Kinshasa. The skins are usually sent to Asia , Europe and the US as the final destinations where they can even scoop higher margins, depending on the quality and the industry it serves.
You can read more about their work here: https://conservcongo.wordpress.com/contact/about/
Ewaso Lions – Warrior Watch

Ewaso Lions works with local community leaders to select Warriors. They train Warriors on wildlife ecology, conservation, human–wildlife conflict transformation, security issues, and more. Over time, the Warriors are trained to collect data and use GPS, allowing Ewaso Lions to map wildlife presence and movements. Following lion attacks on livestock, Warriors encourage herders not to take retaliatory action and help recover lost livestock. Warriors investigate problem animals and consider different solutions for reducing future livestock attacks. Each week, the


Greater Limpopo Carnivore Programme




Conserving Bhutan’s Mountain Tigers




Phoenix Fund – Amur Leopard Conservation




African Impact Foundation


- To Photo Leopards on Camera Traps
- To monitor wildlife corridors used by Leopards
- Study Population Densities
- Create territorial/movement maps for various predators
- Track down and Remove Snares


CORBETT FOUNDATION – TIGER WELLS



INTERNATIONAL TIGER DAY 2019 – FREELAND FOUNDATION



WILDLIFE ALLIANCE – RANGERS PROTECTING WILDLIFE



WILDLIFE PROTECTION SOLUTIONS



KOPE LION



SINGITA GRUMETI FUND



THE AFRICAN PEOPLE & WILDLIFE FUND



WILDCAT WALKABOUT 2019
On November 2nd 2019, Big Cat Rescue had our annual Wildcat Walkabout event, where money raised by admission prices, was donated to 5 worthwhile wild cat conservation projects. Each project was devoted to a different cat species; Cheetah, Margay, Jaguar, Florida Panther & Snow Leopard. This year the event raised a staggering $41,700 total! Below are descriptions of each project and links to read more about the organizations we supported.PASO PACIFICO – JAGUARS IN NICARAGUA


THE ALTAI PROJECT – SAVING SNOW LEOPARDS


FLORIDA WILDLIFE CORRIDOR



GRUPO ECOLOGICO SIERRA GORDA I.A.P – PROTECTING MARGAY


TSAVO CHEETAH PROJECT


