Did you know it can cost less than a dollar to kill a big cat?

A wire snare is cheap to make, easy to set and deadly for big cats. Whether used by local people hunting for food, or by highly organized poachers killing cats for...

Lions Resting in the Tall Grass
(Photo Courtesy of Christian Sperka)

By Dr. Luke Hunter, Executive Vice President of Panthera

Many conservationists, animal-lovers and commentators have applauded the efforts of a consortium of wildlife and...

Panthera has gathered stories from our scientists, researchers, and partners to document their favorite encounters with big cats in the wild. This story, by Panthera Executive Director, Luke Hunter, is the sixth in our series of seven.

The Lioness
by Dr. Luke Hunter

Last October, Panthera gathered stories from our scientists, researchers, and partners to document their favorite encounters with big cats in the wild. This month, read world-renowned conservationist and Panthera Vice President George Schaller's tale of a night spent under falling snow to capture the rare sight of a female snow...

Last October, Panthera gathered stories from our scientists, researchers, and partners to document their favorite encounters with big cats in the wild. This month, read our Director of Snow Leopard Programs Tom McCarthy's account of a sighting that still moves him, twelve years later.

Life Around Us
by Dr....

Panthera gathered stories from our scientists, researchers and partners about their favorite encounters with big cats in the wild. Below is a story from Andrea Heydlauff, Managing Director of Panthera. This "Cat Tale" is the third in our series of seven.

While 2010 is the Chinese Year of the Tiger,...

On Monday afternoon, a hunter in eastern Iowa had the rare luck to see a mountain lion. Mountain lions, like most wild cats, are secretive creatures and are notoriously hard to see in the wild. And, not only does this hunter get to...

Panthera recently gathered stories from our scientists, researchers and partners about their favorite encounters with big cats in the wild. Below is a story from Panthera President and CEO Alan Rabinowitz, This "Cat Tale" is the second in our series of seven.

Ah Puch
by Alan Rabinowitz

Panthera recently gathered stories from our scientists, researchers and partners about their favorite encounters with big cats in the wild. Below is a story from Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, former Minister of Environment and Energy for Costa Rica and current vice president and director for Conservation International. This "Cat Tale" is...

Barely a month goes by without news of someone getting into a tussle with a 'tame' big cat. A recent case in point showed a young lion in a South African resort roughing up a British journalist who thought it would make good copy to go into the animal's cage...

By Andrea Heydlauff, Managing Director of Panthera

Wildlife TV shows have launched an ever-growing list of 'wildlife heroes' who shock and awe viewers running from charging lions, or holding up salmon heads among hungry grizzlies. While these network darlings garner serious attention from their fans they rarely do much for...

Watching lions as nature intended - from the safety of a vehicle
(Photo Courtesy of Panthera)

By Dr. Luke Hunter, Executive Director of Panthera

This week, Animal Planet kicked off the latest offering from likable Steve Irwin-wannabe Dave Salmoni. "Into...

While some of you may know the snow leopard from the amazing chase sequence in the BBC Planet Earth series, most people think 'snow leopard' pertains to Apple's latest Operating System, or the brutal and ruthless villain, Tai Lung, from last year's smash hit Kung Fu Panda. Well, snow leopards...

By Steve Winter

The snow leopard is one of the most elusive cats in the world. As few as 3,500 of them may still roam the harsh, forbidding mountains of Central Asia. No one knows for sure.

In 1999 my editor at National Geographic Magazine circulated an email...

By Dr. Howard Quigley, Director of Western Hemisphere Felid Programs at Panthera

(Jackson, WY) - In the science of describing cat behavior -- or any wildlife species for that matter -- a compelling question is, how connected are individuals to each other? Or,...

(Photo courtesy of Panthera.org)

By Dr. Luke Hunter, Executive Director of Panthera

Last month, 60 Minutes ran a segment on an agricultural pesticide called Furadan. Through much of the developing world, farmers scatter Furadan and similar poisons on their crops to...

I remember the day in 2006 when I learned that ten years of effort had resulted in the designation of the world's largest tiger reserve in a remote corner of Asia. I was euphoric, until late that afternoon when I received additional news about the deaths of two local people...