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Big Cats Initiative Grantee Updates

Big Cats Initiative: Protecting habitat for Big Cats globally

The Problem: Big cats worldwide are under threat, local extinctions are imminent, and 13 years of research via Big Cats Initiative indicates this can be attributed to habitat loss, degradation, overhunting, trade in big cat parts and other conflicts with humans. Lions have disappeared from 95% of their historic range in Africa, and their populations have declined 43% in the 21 years between 1993-2014.

As National Geographic Explorers, Dereck and Beverly Joubert established the Big Cats Initiative over more than a decade ago. Big Cats Iniative funded 157 projects in 29 countries in partnership with National Geographic. In 2022, the Big Cats Initiative was given to the Great Plains Foundation to manage. Since then Great Plains has secured funding for 11 initiatives in 9 countries globally.

Great Plains funds multiple projects across the world aimed at preserving land for big cats and reducing human-wildlife conflict.

Human-Lion Coexistence Research, KENYA

Big Cats Initiative is supporting Lucrecia Aguilar who is studying human-lion dynamics to promote coexistence and a BCI grant in early 2023 partially funded the purchase of a vehicle to support Ms. Aguilar’s work in Laikipia. This year she and her team collared 11 lions and tagged 100 livestock with solar-powered GPS ear tags. They have found that both ranch-conservancies and the pastoralist communities have had very positive responses to the work thus far. The next phase of the project will include social surveys and phone location tracking with women and men in local communities to examine overlap with lions and lion scat collection to analyze livestock vs. wild prey in the diets of lions in the region. 

The Leo Foundation, SENEGAL

In June 2024, the Leo Foundation held a training in large carnivore survey techniques for local rangers and eco-guards in Niokolo-Koba National Park in the Southeast of Senegal. The national park was established in 1954 and it became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1981. In 2007, its status was upgraded to a world heritage site “in danger” and is one of three major large carnivore strongholds in West Africa, providing important habitat for the regionally critical endangered large carnivores including the West African lion and African wild dog. The course focused on basic ecological research and survey methods, recognizing and identifying carnivore tracks, installation and use of solar powered camera traps, use of software for analysis and recognition of individual animals, the sampling and analysis of carnivore scat and the application of DISTANCE software to calculate carnivore densities in the park. The Leo Foundation is happy to report that the initial training helped to bolster the rangers and eco-guards skills and improved their capacity to improving their capacity to monitor and protect this essential habitat for the West African lion and other large carnivore species.

Instituto Homem Pantaneiro, BRAZIL

The work carried out by Instituto Homem Pantaneiro (IHP) this quarter highlights not only the work of Felinos Pantaneiros, their Jaguar Program, but also their ongoing commitment to Environmental Education. During the months of April, May and June, three environmental education activities reaching more than 300 students were implemented at the Instituto Moinho Cultural Sul-Americano (IMC). These activities used play, arts and age-appropriate interactive lessons to assess and expand students’ knowledge of jaguars, biodiversity and the importance of conservation. These initiatives promote appreciation of local biodiversity and reinforce the importance of preserving Pantanal Felines. As for the Felinos Pantaneiros program itself, highlights from the quarter included the resumption of camera trap monitoring of wildlife moving using flow bridges to safely navigate BR-262, a major east-west highway running through the Pantanal, the organization of the first Seminar on Integrated Action Strategies for Jaguar Conservation to improve the diagnosis of threats to Jaguars and strengthen the actions of policing and inspection forces to generate positive results in conservation, and the monitoring of Jaguar and Puma on several farms and properties within IHPs area of operations. 

Watu, Simba Na Mazingira (WASIMA), TANZANIA

WASIMA is a Big Cats Initiative grantee that aims to promote human- lion coexistence by reducing the cost to communities of living with lions and ensuring community engagement in addressing human- lion conflicts (HLCs) and habitat degradation. Between April and June 2024, the WASIMA team hosted local Natural Resources Management and Governance appraisals in three villages bordering Uyumbu Wildlife Management Area and Walla Forest Reserve in Tanzania. The workshop, attended by 170 participants, aimed to identify and assess local natural resources, involve community stakeholders, and set action plans for resource management, governance, and anti- poaching efforts in these important community-run wildlife areas. Finally, they completed ten predator-proof bomas in villages around the northern part of Katavi National Park benefiting 10 households and safeguarding 223 cattle and 37 goats and sheep, valued over $70,000 and held wildlife club sessions in six primary schools involving a total of 472 students.

Author Great Plains Foundation

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