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How the fishing cat came to occur in Sumatra
by J.G. Sanderson

There is widespread belief that the fishing cat occurs in Sumatra. I examined camera trap photographs, museum records, and conducted an extensive literature search to determine if the fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus in fact occurs in Sumatra. All four camera trap photographs of fishing cats were determined to be leopard cats P. bengalensis. Not one of four well-known museums housing collections of fishing cats contained specimens from Sumatra. Literature searches revealed that before 1940 Sumatra was never included within the geographic range of the fishing cat. From 1940 to the present an increasing number of authors included Sumatra as having fishing cats. There is no physical evidence that the fishing cat occurs in Sumatra and therefore Sumatra should not be considered as part of the geographic range of the fishing cat. This is bad news for the endangered fishing cat, and places increasing importance on the presence of the fishing cat in Java that was last recorded in 1932.

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Status of caracal in Bahram’gur Protected Area, Iran

by A. Ghoddousi, T. Ghadirian and H. Fahimi

The current status and distribution of caracal Caracal caracal in Bahram’gur Protected Area (BPA), southern Iran, were studied using different methods for 12 months.  Direct observations were restricted to spot-lighting at night, a method which produced three caracal observations.  Twelve photos of a male caracal were taken with camera traps.  The main prey items were determined from a limited number of scat samples to be cape hare Lepus capensis and various rodents.  Attack by herd dogs and road kills were determined to be the main threats facing this species in BPA.As part of a camera-trapping survey for the identification of felid species in Khojir National Park, Iran, a manul or Pallas’s cat Otocolobus manul was photographed on 6 February 2008 for the first time. There being only a few reports of this secretive cat in Iran, this new locality is very interesting with regard to its national range.

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New jaguar records from montane forest at a priority site in southern Mexico  

by J. J. Figel, E. Durán, D. Barton Bray and J.-R. Prisciliano-Vázquez

We report here on the first camera-trap photos of jaguars Panthera onca in both Oaxaca and on cummunity land where community conservation areas (CCAs) have been declared. The study site was based in the Chinantla, a mountainous, hyper-humid region in the southern Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico. We conducted camera trap surveys from June 2007-June 2008. Two jaguars were identified after 1,164 trap nights (TN) in a total sampling area, not including a buffer area, of 144 km². Human-jaguar conflict resulting from livestock depredation presents an immediate threat to jaguars in the study area. Habitat conversion is virtually non-existent and the area is very remote with a diverse prey population, of which some hunting has been regulated. Therefore we believe the Chinantla should remain a priority region for jaguar conservation in Mexico. Pallas’s cat Otocolobus manul is a wide-ranging small cat that occurs throughout northern and central Asia. Although populations are relatively robust in some areas like Mongolia, little information exists on populations elsewhere, particularly in the southern portion of the species’ range. Consequently, the distribution limits of the species are largely speculative and often inferred from the distribution of potentially suitable habitats.

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Sighting of a jungle cat and the threats of its habitat in Turkey

by B. Avgan

At a wetland in southern Turkey, two jungle cats Felis chaus were observed in July 2007. Though almost nothing is known on the status of the species in the country, all its potential habitats were either lost or highly degraded in the last two decades due to dams and irrigation practices.

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Spotted: the elusive sand cat in Algerian Ahaggar Mountains, central Sahara

by F. Belbachir 

The sand cat Felis margarita is traditionally reported from Algerian Central Sahara based on poorly documented literature. A summary of previous reports on the species in the above region is supplied followed by a description of a new record dated 2008 obtained by camera trapping in Ahaggar National Park.

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Volunteer expeditions support felid research projects

by M. Mazzolli 

Volunteer expeditions have helped to support research projects with two large wild cats. Results have raised concern regarding the conservation status of the Atlantic Rain Forest jaguar Panthera onca, and have successfully evaluated habitat conditions for Arabian leopards Panthera pardus nimr in two areas of their distribution.

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Observation of a wild marbled cat in Sumatra

by L. Morino

I here report a prolonged encounter with a wild marbled cat Pardofelis marmorata in the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park TNBBS, Southern Sumatra, Indonesia.

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Iberian lynx conservation breeding program - update

by A. Vargas, A.Rivas, I. Sánchez, F. Martínez, J. A. Godoy, E. Roldán, R. Cunha Serra and M. J. Pérez 

At the moment there are 77 Iberian lynx in three centers: Acebuche, Olivilla and Jerez Zoo. 60 animals are adults (30 males and 30 females), and 17 are cubs born this year in captivity. 10 cubs are in Acebuche and 7 in Olivilla. At the moment, the different litters go through the second critical stage in their development, the period of aggressiveness where fights between siblings can take place. All litters born this year have experienced periods of fights during their second month of life.

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First Portuguese Iberian lynx captive breeding facility

by R. Cunha Serra

The newest captive breeding facility to join the Iberian lynx ex situ program was inaugurated in Silves, Southern Portugal, on 22 May 2009. This centre has 16 breeding enclosures with audio and video surveillance, a coordination and monitoring building, clinic, laboratory and quarantine facilities.

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Policy for human-leopard conflict management in India

by L. Marker and S. Sivamani

A national workshop was held 23-24 January 2007 in New Delhi, India to develop a pragmatic management policy for human-leopard conflicts in problem areas. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India, the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) jointly hosted the workshop. Over 25 participants attended, including scientific experts who have worked with leopards and other carnivores in India and abroad, and Chief Wildlife Wardens and Forest officials from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Assam, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir. Topics of the workshop included status reports from States, overview of leopard ecology, legal issues of handling the species, and the formulation of a national policy for human-leopard conflict management.

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Threat of a lion population extinction in Waza National Park, North Cameroon

by H. de Iongh, P. Tumenta, B. Croes, P. Funston, H. Bauer and H.U. de Haes

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Panthera launches Jaguar Corridor Initiative

by K. Zeller

Panthera has launched the Jaguar Corridor Initiative (JCI), a project that seeks to conserve jaguar populations, mitigate threats, and implement genetic corridors across the entire range of this species. Inspired by genetic analyses indicating there are no subspecies of jaguars from Mexico to Argentina, Panthera began the JCI to preserve the genetic continuity of the jaguar throughout its range (Eizirik et al. 2001; Ruiz-Garcia et al. 2006). Implementing a corridor at this scale has not previously been attempted and Panthera is developing innovative strategies for work at all levels. We are identifying the corridors with new scientific methods and implementing the corridors by working across the spectrum of stakeholders, from national leaders to individual land owners.

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The Kaplan Graduate Awards: Building the next generation of cat conservationists

by N. Williams     

The Kaplan Graduate Awards (KAP) is a grants program established in early 2005 to support outstanding graduate students working on in situ conservation of wild felids. The program was initiated at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) with funding provided by Panthera, and was relocated to Panthera in May, 2008 where it forms part of the organization’s growing commitment to train and mentor young conservationists working on felids.

Supplementary material: Table of all Kaplan Graduate Award recipients through 2008

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Max and the lynx

by M. Conduret

My name is Max Condouret and I am a kid with a special project. This is my story. I am nine years old and I am in the 3rd grade at a primary school in Geneva, Switzerland.  But, Geneva wasn’t always my home. I was born in San Antonio, Texas and I have two older sisters, two cats, one kitten and a dog. We moved to Switzerland when I was five years old. It was difficult at first, but then I learned French and I made a lot of friends.  My two best friends, Cristofe and Alexandre are part of my story.

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Clouded leopard and small felid summit

by K. Povey

Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand was host to the Clouded Leopard and Small Felid Conservation Summit January 28-30, 2009.

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Action Planning workshop for cheetah, wild dogs and lions in Southern Sudan

by Ch. Breitenmoser-Würsten, S. Durant and A. Dickman

A national conservation action planning workshop for cheetah, wild dogs and lions was held 30 March – 3 April 2009 in Juba, Southern Sudan.

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