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A Wild-to-Wild Translocation of Cheetahs from Private Farmland to a Protected Area in Zimbabwe (1994-2005)
by G. Purchase, G. Vhurumuku and D. Purchase

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Alarm over Tiger Data

by Prerna Singh Bindra

The first phase of this all-India estimate was to indicate the presence and absence of tigers in reserves, national parks, sanctuaries and even outside protected areas; and the presence, abundance or lack there of prey species and habitat quality. This first phase was completed in most cases by January 2006. Four months on, none of the 17 states has sent a report to the Wildlife Institute of India. In fact, at a meeting of Chief Wildlife Wardens from across India, pressure was put on the states to submit their initial findings, but to no avail.

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Determination of Prey Hair in Faeces of Free-ranging Namibian Cheetahs with a Simple Method
by B. Wachter, O. Jauernig and U. Breitenmoser

Namibia is thought to host the largest population of freeranging cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus and the majority of this population inhabits commercial farmland (Morsbach 1987). Some farmers consider that cheetahs prey on both livestock and wild herbivores that are valuable for trophy hunting, and this perceived offtake has generated conflict leading to the indiscriminate elimination of cheetahs from some farms (Marker et al. 1996). To help assess the economic cost of cheetahs on commercial farmland, information on the proportion of different prey species in their diet is required.

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The Lion in Gabon: Historical Records and Notes on Current Status by P. Henschel

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Update on the Iberian Lynx ex-situ Conservation Program
by A. Vargas, F. Martínez, J. Bergara, L. D. Klink, J. M. Rodríguez, D. Rodriguez and A. Rivas

In the evening of 23 March 2006, Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) female Saliega gave birth to two healthy cubs. This is her second litter. The cubs were born in the El Acebuche Conservation Breeding Centre, where she gave last year birth to the first litter of the Critically Endangered Iberian lynx ever born in captivity (see Cat News 42).

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African Lion Conservation Strategies by K. Nowell, L. Hunter and H. Bauer

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Reintroduction of the Chinese Tiger by U. Breitenmoser, R. Tilson and P. Nyhus

On 17–18 December 2005, the Department of Wildlife Conservation of the State Forestry Administration (SFA) of the P.R. China, supported by the non-governmental organisation Save China’s Tigers, organised a workshop on the rehabilitation and reintroduction of the South China Tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis). The South China tiger is listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List. There may be some tigers left in the wild, but there is a good possibility the in situ population is extinct. The tiger is not only an ecological umbrella species, but has an outstanding cultural significance, and the Chinese are dedicated to saving it.

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Range Size and Den Use of Gordon’s Wild Cat in the Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
by P. Phelan and A. Sliwa

The first radio-tracking study on two Gordon’s wildcats Felis silvestris gordoni (Harrison 1968)  revealed several results important for the conservation of the wildcat in the region (Phelan & Sliwa 2005).

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The Leopard Controversy in South Africa: Common Cat or Conservation Concern
by B. Daly and Y. Friedmann

Fundamental to the effective management and conservation of any species is a reasonable estimation of population sizes, distribution and trends. Much of this information is unknown for the leopard Panthera pardus, and leopards have been referred to, by eminent carnivore researchers Luke Hunter and Guy Balme, as the world’s most persecuted big cat. Despite the fact that accurate knowledge of the status of this species is lacking, decisions regarding its future are frequently taken and the species continues to be hunted, persecuted and forced out of its natural territories.

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Jaguar Study in Paraguay by R. T. McBride Jr.

The Gran Chaco of Paraguay contains the largest population of arid land jaguars Panthera onca left in the Americas. The Chaco varies in rainfall from west to east from 250 mm annually to 1,200 mm annually with corresponding habitat transition zones. Land clearing in eastern Paraguay serves as a grim reminder of how rapidly the cumulative effects of fragmentation can result in the deforestation of an entire region. Jaguars in eastern Paraguay have been reduced to isolated populations that are heavily persecuted and approaching extinction.

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A Comparison of Detector Dogs, Hair Snares, Cameras, and Scent Stations for Detection of Bobcats
by R. Harrison

Adequate monitoring and detection of populations of small and medium-sized felids has been difficult to achieve with traditional methods. However, new detection methods have been developed. To compare survey methods for bobcats Lynx rufus, I examined the rate of detection, cost, and time required for automatic cameras, hair snares, scent stations, and a detector dog trained to find bobcat feces (scats). This dog produced nearly ten times the number of bobcat detections as the other methods combined.  Although the detector dog was the most expensive method and, depending upon weather and number of scats required, took more field time than the other methods, its use required only one visit to each survey site. Use of detector dogs has the potential to achieve detection rates consistently high enough to provide useful indices for the population monitoring of bobcats.  Detector dogs may also be used in a laboratory setting to identify bobcat scats within a sample set collected from the field.

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Fishing Cat on India’s East Coast by S. Kolipaka

The mangrove forests spreading over the 240 km2 of Coringa sanctuary on the coast of Andhra Pradesh state are one of the only surviving fishing cat Prionailurs viverrinus habitats of any considerable size on the east coast of India.

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First Camera Trap Photos of the Andean Cat in the Sajama National Park and Natural Area Integrated Management, Bolivia by T. Barbry and G. Gallardo

The Sajama National Park is one of the 8 Bolivian protected areas located in the potential range of distribution of Oreailurus jacobita, the Andean cat. It is also the second National Park in Bolivia where the species presence is officially confirmed. The last indication of the presence of the Andean cat in Sajama National Park was a skin found in 2002. The Andean cat is classified in the category “Endangered” in the 2004 IUCN Red list and in the Appendix I of the CITES convention and it is therefore considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

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Andean Cat in Mendoza, Argentina - Furthest South and at Lowest Elevation Ever Recorded
by L. E. Sorli, F. D. MArtnez, U. Lardelli and S. Brandi

The Andean cat Oreailurus jacobita is one of the least-known and perhaps the least common of the South American felids. Previously it has been found only in arid and semi-arid habitats at altitudes between 3,000 and 5,000 m above sea level in the Andes of Perú, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. This new record extends the known distribution of the Andean cat by at least 500 km, and to an altitude previously not considered in evaluations of the distribution and conservation status of the species.

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The Tigrilladas in Colombia by E. Payan and L. A. Trujillo

The jaguar Panthera onca and the tigrillos, - the ocelot Leopardus pardalis, the margay L. wiedi and the oncilla L. tigrinus - are the four spotted cat species indigenous to the Colombian Amazon basin. The cat skin boom of the 1960s and 1970s is well known, but details of how these skins were produced remain obscure. The tigrilladas is the name is given to the hunting missions that used to go after jaguars and tigrillos to cater for this fashion craze. Here we detail how these operated and discuss the significant implications for conservation.

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