Panthera
Panthera2020 Annual Report
Panthera’s mission is to ensure a futurefor wild cats and the vast landscapes onwhich they depend.Our vision is a world where wild catsthrive in healthy, natural and developedlandscapes that sustain people andbiodiversity.Cover: A young male tiger locks eyes inRanthambore Tiger Reserve, IndiaPantheraContents04“Hope” is the Thingwith Whiskers060810ConservationDuring CrisisSaving Catsin a PandemicFrom Pet Catsto Wild Cats343638by Thomas S. Kaplan, Ph.D.12ProgramHighlightsWild CrisisCommunicationsSearching forNew FrontiersConservationScience andTechnologyHighlights43444649FOLLOW PANTHERA@PantheracatsInstagram, Facebook, Twitter,YouTube and LinkedInREAD THE BLOGpanthera.org/blog2 — 2020 ANNUAL REPORT2020 FinancialSummaryBoard, Staff andScience CouncilConservationCouncilA New Job in anUpended WorldBy Kritsana Kaewplang
A young leopard in theOkavango Delta, Botswana“Hope” is theThing with WhiskersWho, in their lives, has looked upon a lioness with her cuband not thought of their own mother or child? Who has wornleopard print and not felt the cat’s ferocity overtake theirspirit? Who has gazed into the eyes of a snow leopard withoutbeing captivated by their inherent intelligence and mystery?My friends, 2020 imparted many lessons upon us, foremost ofwhich is that man’s fate and soul remains inextricably tied to thepreservation of wildlife. Those of us who have been confined toconcrete jungles this past year can attest to the unique healingpower of being in nature. Those of us who have choked onsmoke pluming from distant wildfires can bear witness to theimmeasurable destruction wrought when our relationship withnature is broken.Throughout this storm, the words of my intellectual lodestar —Marcus Aurelius — continue to echo across the millennia in anattempt to shake us from our delusion that we humans mighthave dominion over this planet: “Everything is fruit to me whichthy seasons bring, O Nature: from thee are all things, in thee areall things, to thee all things return.” As we sell wildlife, we breedviolence. As we set fires for farmland, we scorch our own lungs.As we harm nature, we hurt ourselves.And yet, as you’ll see in the pages that follow — with anassist from Emily Dickinson — “hope” is indeed the thing withwhiskers.* When COVID-19 shuttered most of us in our homes,Panthera’s ranger teams were out in force protecting tigers inSouth and Southeast Asia while our scientists were distributingfood to rural communities in Angola. As fires devastated thejaguar paradise of the Brazilian Pantanal, our staff put downtheir camera traps and picked up hoses and axes to douseburning wooden bridges and build firebreaks. Communitiesthat had learned to mix sustainable cattle ranching with jaguarecotourism immediately braved the flames to rescue theinjured jaguars that they consider family. When two hurricanesbattered Honduras last fall, we turned our attention frompatrolling Jeannette Kawas National Park for illegal huntingand grazing to distributing food and basic supplies to nearbyvillages. Those cats that once represented threats to livestockand livelihoods turned, through Panthera and our partners, intosuppliers of diapers and formula during that crisis. That was allof us: whether standing on the frontlines or donating what onecould, we were all brought together by the love of cats.Speaking of the love of cats, 2020 officially brought one ofthe world’s most devoted advocates for cats into Panthera’s*Kudos to Director of Content Strategy and Production Jared Watkins for alwaysfinding the poetry in cat conservation and assisting me so brilliantly in giving myown voice that much more a roar!4 — 2020 ANNUAL REPORTleadership. Jonathan Ayers, former CEO of IDEXX Laboratories,joined Panthera’s Board of Directors and, as announced inMarch 2021, became the newest member of The Global Alliancefor Wild Cats with a 20 million commitment over 10 years tosupport wild cat conservation with an emphasis on small catsand lions. Jon’s passion for, and inexhaustible curiosity about,cats has impressed even me — a prime offender. You will learnmore about Jon and why he has entrusted Panthera to executeon his vision of saving all 40 species of wild cats in his interviewlater in this report. Jon’s undeniable business acumen and vastleadership experience will also serve as invaluable assets as ourorganization grows further to meet those lofty expectationsAlan Rabinowitz and I first dreamed of 15 years ago when wefounded Panthera. We are today THE voice for wild cats andthe world is clearly starting to listen.It would be inexcusable for me to take stock of the monumentalchallenges that 2020 presented without thanking all of oursupporters — whether you gave Panthera one dollar or sit onour Board of Directors. In a year characterized by uncertainty,if not constant anxiety, and when so many worthy causesasked for help, you all stepped up and affirmed that catsare worth protecting, even under the most extraordinary ofcircumstances. You all recognized that there simply is no future— whether for us or our planet — if we drop our guard for evena moment and let wild cats vanish.In the long, complex and yet passionate history of humanand cat coexistence, the latter have always symbolized power,strength and courage. I humbly submit that hope can now beadded to that list. For as long as a cat prowls, an ecosystem isprotected, a sustainable local economy is possible and faith ina reborn planet endures. As long as a cat prowls, humanity maymaintain that indispensable connection to the wild that will helpus survive and thrive amidst an otherwise unpredictable future.As long as a cat prowls, there is still — at last — beauty inthis world.DR. THOMAS S. KAPLANFounder, Chairman of the Board
ConservationDuring CrisisA CONVERSATION WITH FRED LAUNAYPanthera’s 2020 Annual Report is themed around ConservationDuring Crisis. The pandemic required staff around the globe toadapt conservation initiatives to a world where movement wasseverely restricted, tourists were cleared from protected areasand it was often too risky to interact with isolated communitiesthat are particularly vulnerable to the ravages of COVID-19. Ontop of that, staff were dealing with hurricanes and wildfires inthe Americas. Panthera President and CEO Fred Launay satdown with three staff members working in Colombia, Gabonand Malaysia to find out how our programs adjusted to thestresses of 2020.WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AT PANTHERA?IN THE CONVERSATIONI have been working as the Coordinator of theLion Restoration Project in Plateaux Batéké NationalPark (PBNP), southeast Gabon, since July 2019. Atthis early stage, we are working on biomonitoringactivities and logistics to prepare for the upcomingtransfer of wild lions to the park.FRED LAUNAYPresident and CEOWAI YEE LAMCountry ManagerPanthera MalaysiaELISA BRAVORegional Program ManagerSouth AmericaVINCENT LAPEYRECoordinatorLion Restoration ProjectPlateaux BatékéNational ParkI became Country Manager for Panthera Malaysiain November 2020. My responsibilities are tooversee and support all in-country projects andensure that our activities align with our RegionalStrategy for wild cat conservation in Malaysia. Prior,I worked closely with Panthera as a member of ourMalaysian partner, Rimba.As Regional Program Manager for South America,my role is mainly to keep an eye on everythingthat Panthera is doing in the area, from simpleadministrative tasks to overseeing our finances.HOW DID THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC CHANGE THINGS IN2020 AND HOW DID THAT IMPACT YOU PROFESSIONALLYAND PERSONALLY?The pandemic pushed back a lot of our plannedactivities, including trainings and meetings.Personally, the lockdowns also limited my ability totravel to the field stations to provide direct supportand rendered me feeling rather helpless at certaintimes. Surprisingly, however, poachers seemed tohave stayed away from the forests in the Kenyir CoreArea because of travel restrictions. We reportedour first zero-snare year in 2020. Fewer incursionsfrom Indonesian poachers were also observed in ourDupot Project site in Borneo for what we suspectwere similar reasons.Opposite: Wearing a COVID-19 mask,a park guard patrols Jeannette KawasNational Park in Honduras6 — 2020 ANNUAL REPORTProfessionally, the two main issues we had toface were park protection against poachers withinterrupted regular patrols and continuing to.prepare for the upcoming lion transfer. We arehappy to report that, despite the obstacles, manyareas of the park are still much safer for wildlifethan a few years ago and we remain on trackto reintroduce female lions in the park in 2021.Emotionally, it was a stressful situation; workingfar from home and family (I am from France) underthese worrying conditions was not easy.It changed pretty much everything; I moved backhome after 20 years. I can’t travel to visit the peopleI love and have been unable to visit my mom or mybest friends that live abroad. We don’t have an officespace and meetings are all virtual or over the phone.I also had to adjust to a new work-life balance.HOW DO YOU WORK WITH PARTNERS AND LOCALGOVERNMENTS IN LIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC?Thanks to our long-term commitment in theconservation of the biodiversity of Gabon, Pantherahas been developing a trusted relationship with theGabonese National Park Agency and the Ministry ofWater, Forest, Sea and Environment. This kind of linkis especially appreciated when the conditions aremore challenging. We maintained daily communications with them and with all of our partners.Thanks to technology we were able to maintainpartnerships with remote work, including phonecalls and virtual events to support ongoing projectsand training.Although Panthera’s in-country office was onlyvery recently established, we are fortunate that ourlong-term support and direct engagement in ourprojects in Malaysia over the past several years hasmade our organization and reputation known amongour government partners. During periods whenenforcement patrol manpower had to be redeployedto manage lockdown measures, our patrol teamsoffered support to maintain patrol presence inthe forests.WHAT CHALLENGES LIE AHEAD?We have many challenges ahead, but we learned alot in 2020. We are still working remotely, missingoffice space and time with our colleagues. We arealso redoubling our fundraising efforts, which is vitalto maintain our local personnel.We hope to release the first lioness into the parkthis year and must be prepared for careful monitoring of her and any future growth in Gabon’s lionpopulation. We will also assist local communities toincrease their quality of life. The integration of theirneeds with that of project development may betricky to maneuver.The pandemic shook the world over and,unfortunately, the underlying environmentalproblems have yet to be addressed. Can we turn thetide in time to brace ourselves for the next crisis? Dotigers in Malaysia stand a chance to recover? Onlytime will tell.HOW HAS YOUR OUTLOOK ON 2021 AND THEFUTURE CHANGED?2020 taught me that sometimes even the best-laidplans fall through. This helped me learn to live in themoment and be more appreciative of the connectionI have with my colleagues.If we continue to ignore the impacts of our behavioron nature, we will see more consequences like thispandemic and other major crises impacting biodiversity. We must be ready to live in a less stable worldand anticipate such events.The year 2020 certainly showed how intertwinedour lives are with nature and the delicateness of thatbalance. The year highlighted the imbalances ofglobal power distribution, but it also unveiled greatresilience among us. This gives me hope that we canidentify and fix problems when we really put ourminds to it.CONSERVATION DURING CRISIS — 7
Saving Catsin a PandemicOpposite: KLAWS warden MirriamNamushi and Panthera CheetahProgram Director Kim Young-Overtonin Kafue National Park, ZambiaECONOMIC IMPACTS95% 14M67%ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS32xJaguar-viewing tours cancelled inthe Brazilian PantanalLost revenue for Zambia’s Departmentof National Parks and Wildlife2xLost revenue for homestay operatorsin Ladakh, northern IndiaMonitored pumas poached inWashington State, USAReported jaguar killings in ColombiaSnares recovered in Kafue NationalPark, ZambiaHOW WE ADAPTEDConducted online lawenforcement trainingsIncreasedhumanitarian aidOptimized lawenforcement patrollingReached ruralcommunities with radioads and messaging appsHOW WE HELPED20k0400Kilometers patrolled in keytiger habitats102Lions monitored and protected in theGreater Kafue Ecosystem, ZambiaTigers snared in Kenyir, Malaysia94Families supported in the BrazilianPantanalPeople employed or fed inLuengue-Luiana and MavingaNational Parks, Angola40Officials trained on identifying wildlifetrafficking in Bolivia8 — 2020 ANNUAL REPORT
“Wild cat conservation is a verytangible cause on which I know Ican have an impact. One of thethings that drew me to Pantherais its exclusive focus on wild cats –and focus leads to impact.”From Pet Catsto Wild CatsA Q&A WITH JONATHAN AYERSCHAIRMAN, THE AYERS WILD CATCONSERVATION TRUSTPANTHERA BOARD DIRECTORGLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR WILD CATS MEMBERIn 2017, Jonathan Ayers made a 150 donation to Pantheraand asked our staff what he could do to help the 33 speciesof small wild cats. At that point, Panthera was just beginningto explore establishing a dedicated program for studying andprotecting small cats. Our Small Cat Action Fund was providinggrants to projects dedicated to small cats around the world,but we knew we needed to do much more for these oft-ignoredspecies. Impressed by Panthera’s global impact and our soundmanagement, Jon gave 10,000 to the Small Cat Action Fundto really kick start his commitment to small cat conservation.At the time, Jon was Chairman and CEO of IDEXX Laboratories,the veterinary diagnostics and software leader dedicatedto advancing the health and well-being of domestic cats,other pets and livestock. Jon felt a connection to wild catsthrough his own cats. After establishing The Ayers Wild CatConservation Trust with his wife Helaine, Jon helped initiatePanthera’s Small Cats Program in 2018. He further steppedup his level of funding for small cat conservation in 2019 andthen again in 2020 while joining Panthera’s Board of Directors.Shortly thereafter, in late 2020, Jon became chair of the Board’sFinance and Audit Committee.The Panthera Board has gained a world-class leader deeplyexperienced in running a global organization. Jon grew IDEXX’sannual revenues from 380 million to 2.4 billion over his 17years at the helm and drove the stock price from 6 to well over 500 in 2021. Jon’s vision, leadership experience and passionwill be vital as Panthera continues to grow its impact on theconservation of all 40 species of wild cats.Above (left to right): Jonathan Ayersin his Florida home; A bobcat sightingin CaliforniaOpposite: A young adult cloudedleopard in Malaysian BorneoNext Page: Conexión Jaguar teaminstalling camera traps in Ucayaliregion, Peru10 — 2020 ANNUAL REPORTIn March 2021, Jon made an extraordinary commitment of atleast 20 million over ten years towards wild cat conservation(focused on small cat conservation) and joined Panthera’sGlobal Alliance for Wild Cats. That commitment came almosttwo years after Jon was involved in a catastrophic bicycleaccident that left him mostly paralyzed from the neck downand forced him to retire from his positions at IDEXX (he remainsa Board member). We discussed with Jon the potent connections between our pet cats and wild cats and how he found newpurpose in life protecting wild cats after his accident.HOW LONG HAVE YOU FELT A CONNECTION TO CATS?I’ve always loved cats. At IDEXX, even though the majority of thecompanion animals we served were dogs, I was always knownas a cat guy. I find cats to be fascinating: the way they behave,the way they hunt, the way that almost all of the species (otherthan lions) are solitary and how they patrol their territories. Catshave survived many evolutionary cycles and many ice ages. Alot of other species have come and gone but cats have survived.They are an evolutionary marvel.When I learned about Panthera, I read the mission statementand I said, ‘Oh this is perfect for me because Panthera is justfocused on conservation of wild cats. This is exactly what I’minterested in supporting.’WHY HAVE YOU CHOSEN TO SPOTLIGHT SMALL CATS WITHYOUR COMMITMENT?One reason is because they’re cute. Growing up, whenever Iwent to the zoo, all I wanted to see were the cats, but what Ireally wanted to see were the small cats. I could sort of relate tothe small cats better. I just found them really fascinating. Someof my favorite species are the clouded leopard and the margaybecause they are tree loving and can climb down head first. Wedon’t see small cats too much because they make themselvesscarce (they are both predator and prey) and they’re not inpopular culture like the big cats.To be clear, I like all cats, but I saw an opportunity to help roundout Panthera’s programming and fund a group of species thatare getting only a tiny fraction of species conservation funding.Plus, the 33 species of small cats are in all of the regions inwhich Panthera works, so we can help protect a wide variety ofecosystems and support a diverse set of human communities.WHAT ROLE CAN THE ANIMAL HEALTH BUSINESS PLAY INWILDLIFE CONSERVATION?Many veterinarians are lovers of wildlife. When they go tovet school, in many cases their dream is to become a wildlifeveterinarian. There aren’t many jobs in wildlife health, so theybecome a companion animal veterinarian. I’m hoping myinvolvement with Panthera can bring those two worlds together.While most animal health professionals may not be able todirectly care for wild cats, they can contribute financially toconservation and, more importantly, just make sure people areaware of the threats facing the cousins of their companion cats.HOW DID YOU FIND PURPOSE WHEN THE WORLD SEEMED OUTOF CONTROL?I think it’s easier to find purpose when in crisis. When I had myaccident, I lost so much. The thing about spinal cord injuriesis that no two are the same and thus it is hard to project yourrecovery. My recovery has been slow. I am working very hardat it, and I’ve made progress. But somewhere along the wayyou ask yourself, ‘well what now?’ And I ultimately realized Godsaved my brain so I could support cats in the wild.When the COVID-19 crisis hit about nine months after my injury,I saw that the pandemic was having a big impact on certainlandscapes that depend on wildlife tourism. I felt I could stepinto the breach and help these places get through the crisisand make sure we preserved the many gains we had made inconservation up to this point.So that’s my advice: find your purpose and figure out where andhow you can help our world.ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET?I think you have to be an optimist, but you also have to be arealist. It’s not just going to happen: our planet is not going tomaintain its biodiversity unless we are purposeful in investing init. The needs are pretty overwhelming. For example, we’ve losthalf of the wild lion populations from one Lion King movie to thenext. We have to stem that and reverse it. I think we’re gettingbetter: we have better scientific approaches, we have bettertechnology, we know how to work with local communitiesand we’re learning more about the ecological dynamism ofcats. Now is a special time to be investing in cat conservationbecause we have the opportunity to preserve many of thesekey catscapes – landscapes with multiple cat species present– while we keep growing our investment and perfecting ourconservation strategies.FROM PET CATS TO WILD CATS — 11
ProgramHighlights12 — 2020 ANNUAL REPORT
AfricaBIG CATSLionPanthera leoLeopardPanthera pardusCheetahAcinonyx jubatusSMALL CATS3 PLATEAU BATÉKÉ NATIONAL PARK, GABONPanthera has worked with Gabon’s National Park Agencysince 2017 to reduce poaching in the home of Gabon’sonly lion, an IUCN Save Our Species project co-fundedby the European Union. Recent wildlife surveys haveindicated that we are successfully reducing poachingas our camera traps have detected more leopards andkey lion prey species. With this base established, we willbegin efforts to translocate female lions to the park in2021. Since 2017, we have detected:33%160%36%BuffaloesRed River HogsLeopardsSENEGALBURKINAFASONIOKOLO-KOBA NATIONAL PARK, SENEGALAfrican Golden CatJungle CatCaracal aurataFelis chausAfrican WildcatSand CatFelis lybica lybicaFelis lybica cafraFelis margaritaBlack-footed CatLeptailurus servalServalFelis nigripesCaracalCaracal caracal1 AFRICAN GOLDEN CAT RANGE, WEST ANDCENTRAL AFRICAPanthera initiated a range-widesurvey of the African golden cat,utilizing the 1,745 camera traplocations from which we receivedata in the cat’s range and workingwith dozens of potential outsidecollaborators. The survey will alsocapture data on servals and Africanwild cats in this range.2 SAVING SPOTS, ZAMBIAWhile the pandemic slowed the effort to replace realleopard, lion and serval furs with synthetic furs inpartnership with the Barotse Royal Establishment of theLozi People, we still distributed 380 additional syntheticfurs in 2020. In the absence of public gatherings, ourvideos educating communities about the plight ofleopards and other wild cats have spread rapidly afterbeing shared by key Lozi leaders and influencers.14 — 2020 ANNUAL REPORTPanthera has been working withthe Senegalese Direction des ParcsNationaux since 2016 to monitorwildlife, build law enforcementinfrastructure and support antipoaching patrols in the southeasterncorner of Niokolo-Koba NationalPark, home to one of the lastremaining populations of lions in West Africa. We haveeffectively cleared the area of poachers and illegalminers, and elephants and lions have now returned tothe area. Given this success, we are excited to announcethat Panthera has signed a new five-year Memorandumof Understanding with the Senegalese Government toexpand monitoring and law enforcement activities acrossthe park.BENINGABON13TANZANIAATL ANTICOCEANANGOL AHWANGE NATIONAL PARK, ZIMBABWEDespite pandemic-related difficulties, the Scorpion AntiPoaching Unit continued to provide protection to largecarnivores in this former home of Cecil the lion. In 2020,the team accomplished the following:5k 1625Kilometers patrolledSnares andtraps removedPoachers apprehendedfor killing a leopardZAMBIA2ZIMBABWEMAP KEYFeatured Project SiteNAMIBIA BOTSWANAProject sites specializing in:Law EnforcementSOUTHAFRICAMonitoringDemand ReductionPROGR AM HIGHLIGHTS: AFRICA — 15
AfricaEMPTY WILDSAcross Africa’s national parks, the roars of jeepshad been silenced, the flashes of sunlight off ofbinoculars had been dimmed and the Instagramgeotags had been reduced to Throwback Thursdayposts. A continent that had given so much to theworld by setting aside its most valuable landscapeslost the international tourists that helped payfor the management of these vast lands. Nearbycommunities lost income and wildlife lost theadditional eyes that helped keep them safe.Panthera and our partners had to figure out how toprotect wildlife and human communities as long asthe pandemic lasted and build a conservation modelnot as dependent on tourism for the future.The HaloEffectConnect withthis story.Above: Lucky tourists photograph acheetah walking in front of their jeepin Kafue National ParkOpposite: Nathan Brown Zimba,a DNPW scout, tracking a lion inKafue National Park, Zambia16 — 2020 ANNUAL REPORTWatchIn Zambia, wildlife tourism contributes 1.8 billion in revenueevery year and provides 341,000 jobs. Travel restrictions due tothe COVID-19 pandemic have devastated the country’s tourism economy, significantly reducing revenue crucial for fundingnational park management and protection. This has forcedreductions in resources for anti-poaching patrols. Combinedwith the lack of tourists, who provided additional “eyes on thewild,” and the loss of jobs amplifying poverty and fueling a risein poaching, the situation could have been catastrophic in KafueNational Park, one of Panthera’s flagship landscapes forcheetahs, leopards and lions.Indeed, the nightmare seemed to be coming true as two lionswere killed in early 2020 in areas that had formerly beensecured from poaching. We also recovered almost doublethe number of snares in 2020 than in 2019. Thankfully, priorto the pandemic, Panthera, with our partners at the ZambianDepartment of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and theZambian Carnivore Programme (ZCP), had already begunthe “Halo Approach,” a partnership approach to monitor themovement of key carnivore individuals and groups and directintensive protection to those animals during critical biological events (like giving birth and denning). In response to thepandemic, we strengthened the Halo Approach with twodedicated Lion Monitoring and Protection Teams (comprisingDNPW, ZCP and Panthera), which use GPS collars and old-fashioned tracking to monitor the composition and movement of16 lion prides and, while tracking, document signs of poachingactivity for patrol team rapid response. Anti-poaching effort isthen directed to prides and areas most needing focal protection.Placing a “Halo” around these key individuals and groups hasenabled us to maximize impact in the face of fewer resourcesand greater pressures, both of which the pandemic ratcheted upto the extreme.We are thrilled to announce that, together with conventionalprotection patrols, the Halo Approach has lived up to its name,allowing wildlife protection teams to act as carnivores’ guardian angels despite facing steep challenges. Since the two lionlosses early in the year, we monitored and protected 102 knownlions (covering a collective distance of 8,137 km) with no furtherlosses due to poaching in 2020.2020 is just the latest in a tremendous run of wildlife protectionwork in Kafue National Park since Panthera began supportingDNPW law enforcement operations in 2017. Our preliminarywildlife monitoring results indicate that lion numbers resident onthe Busanga Plains World Heritage Area increased by 63% from2019 to 2020 and by more than 300% since 2016. We conservatively estimate that our law enforcement support prevents thepoaching of at least 8,000 animals per year (including carnivoresand their prey). We are eternally grateful to Fondation Segré,Green Safaris Conservation Foundation, The Lion RecoveryFund and the North Carolina Zoo for supporting these results.These efforts will all be for naught, though, if the people livingnear and working in the Greater Kafue Ecosystem cannot recover the incomes and livelihoods snatched away by the pandemic.In Kafue and other regions, we are developing new communityconservancy models that reward communities for protectingwildlife from funds independent from tourism. We are also thinking broadly about how the conservation and global developmentfields can more actively collaborate so that development fundsand activities also achieve conservation goals and vice-versa.Kafue has been one of Panthera’s flagship programs since itsinception because of the spectacular majesty of this enormous landscape, the potential for recovery of its varied andphotogenic wildlife and the support we have received from ourgovernment and collaborative partners here. All three are stilltrue today. While our committed staff in Kafue may have feltdespondent in the pandemic’s early days after the two poachedlions were discovered, hope is again on the horizon. This trulyspecial landscape, one of the largest protected area wildernesscomplexes in the world, will recover. To do so, though, it needsmuch more than social media tags; it needs a world dedicatedto preserving the world’s cats and iconic wild spaces, even if noone is around for a selfie.PROGR AM HIGHLIGHTS: THE HALO EFFECT — 17
The Tourismof TomorrowConnect withthis story.Above: Community Game Guardslearning how to use SMARTtechnology to prevent poachingOpposite (left to right): A LuengueLuiana ranger feeds a young dik-dik;Panthera staff, along with INBAC andother partners, delivering rations tolocal communities18 — 2020 ANNUAL REPORTWatchAround 30,000 people live within Angola’s Luengue-Luiana andMavinga National Parks after being displaced and resettled by anearly three-decades-long civil war. Working with the AngolanNational Institute for Biodiversity and Protected Areas (INBAC)through the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Environment andwith other organizations, Panthera is building law enforcement and community engagement programs to bring back theregion’s once-thriving lion and other wildlife populations. Theseparks are not yet tourist destinations in the typical sense, so wedid not see the bumps in poaching associated with COVID-19travel restrictions comparable to what we have seen in KafueNational Park, Zambia. In fact, we are seeing evidence of thelion prey base recovering. We are hopeful that an increased lionpopulation is not far behind, but we are exploring translocatingsome female lions to jumpstart this recovery.The pandemic did necessitate extensive adaptations to continuesupporting the two dozen community members we employin the parks as educators, ecological managers, drivers andCommunity Game Guards protecting big cats and their prey.Normally, the project’s education team would visit the 42villages that fall within the main area of work and inform parkresidents about project progress, employment opportunitiesand the importance of protecting the area’s wildlife. Given thedangers of extensive movement and public gatherings duringCOVID-19, these meetings had to be severely curtailed. Theteam was, however, able to visit the major villages on a fewoccasions accompanying district administrators on their regulartrips. The education team was able to incorporate updatesabout the spread of COVID-19 and movement restrictions intotheir presenta
VINCENT LAPEYREWAI YEE LAM Coordinator Lion Restoration Project Plateaux Batéké National Park FRED LAUNAY President and CEO Country Manager Panthera Malaysia I have been working as the Coordinator of the Lion Restoration Project in Plateaux Batéké National Park (PBNP), southeast Gabon, since July 2019. At
Panthera uncia (Snow leopard) The snow leopard (Panthera uncia syn. Uncia uncia) is a large cat na ve to the moun-tain ranges of Central and South Asia including Nepal. It is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because as of 2003, the size of the glob
Genus‐Panthera (Traditional big cats, with vocal adaptations allowing them to roar, but not purr. The genus includes lions, tigers, leopards, snow leopards and jaguars.) Species‐Panthera onca (The only American big cat.) Regional names1, 2: Jaguar – North America
Gigantic lion, Panthera leo, from the Pleistocene of Natodomeri, eastern Africa Fredrick K. Manthi,1 Francis H. Brown,2,† Michael J. Plavcan,3 and Lars Werdelin4* 1Department s.or.ke〉 2Department of Geolog
Tiger (Panthera tigris) Care Manual Association of Zoos and Aquariums 6 local, state/provincial, and federal wildlife laws and regulations/or; AZA accreditation standards that are
The snow leopard ( Uncia uncia ) (formerly known as Panthera uncia ) is a carnivore of the high mountains of central Asia, noted for its rarity and as an indicator of the ecological health of high altitude ecosystems. These ecosystem
The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is an endangered apex predator of the high moun-tains of central Asia that are extensively used for livestock produc-tion (Mishra et al., 2003). As with many other threatened large carnivores, livestock predation is a major conservation issue throughout th
The snow leopard is categorized as endangered in the 2009 IUCN Red List (IUCN, 2009). In Chitral Gol National Park, the status of snow leopard had changed from Tenuous Security to Seriously Threatened by 1974 as a result of hunting (Schaller, 1976). According to Ahmed (1994), th
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