A conservation nonprofit in Chile has delighted South American ecologists with the daytime camera trap footage of a Pampas cat, an extremely rare, non-endangered, and little-understood small wildcat species. Named after the characteristic South American environment they thrive in, the “Colocolo,” to use the local name, looks like a small lynx, or large house cat. […]
Tag: Wildcats
Fishing cats in India struggle to survive outside protected areas
The wetlands of West Bengal in eastern India are one of the country’s best habitats for the fishing cat, a species vulnerable to extinction. But a significant population of these fish-eating, mid-sized wildcats lives outside protected areas, putting them at high risk of road accidents and retaliatory killing, reports contributor Nabarun Guha for Mongabay India. […]
Spain’s rewilding of Iberian lynx at risk after lobbying by hunters and farmers
Only last year it was hailed as a conservation success story: the Iberian lynx, which had been close to extinction, had sprung back to life thanks to a two-decade-long effort to expand the population. Now, however, that progress is at risk after several regional governments in Spain acceded to pressure from farmers and hunters to […]
Two lynx caught after illegal release in Scotland – here’s what happened
Two Eurasian lynx were spotted just after 4pm on Wednesday 8 January in the Drumguish area of the Highlands in Scotland. Wildlife conservationists from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) worked overnight with the police to capture the big cats, and condemned the illegal release “in the strongest possible terms”. “We set live trail […]
Leopard Population Has Nearly Tripled in the World’s Largest Conservation Area
In parts of Zambia’s Kafue National Park, a conservation organization specializing in wildcats has reported that the number of leopards there has nearly tripled. With an increase of 2.9, there are now 4.4 leopards per 100 square kilometers of terrain, which is much more than it sounds when you consider just how big Kafue is. […]
Microplastics are sickening and killing wildlife, disrupting Earth systems
Bottlenose dolphins leapt and torpedoed through the shallow turquoise waters off Florida’s Sarasota Bay. Then, a research team moved in, quickly corralling the small pod in a large net. With the speed of a race car pit crew, veterinarians, biologists and their assistants examined the animals, checking vital signs while taking skin, blood and other […]
Social Media Could Boost Wildlife Conservation Efforts for Small Mammal Species, Experts Say
Photos of wildlife on social media have the power to boost conservation by depicting predators not only as beautiful, but as similar to domestic pets. A new study has found that, through their millions of followers, Instagram and Facebook can steer public engagement and awareness toward support for predators like wildcats, who are sometimes shot […]