NEWSLINK: Haryana Wildlife Department launches big cat census to check leopard numbers

The Haryana Wildlife Department is conducting a survey to check the number of wild animals, including leopards, in the vicinity of Aravalli mountain range - from Bhiwani to Faridabad district.

The assignment was handed over to the Wildlife Institute of India (WLII) in January, with the department expecting to complete the project in June.

“Aravalli mountain range in Haryana is known for being a natural habitat for wildlife animals such as leopards, hyena, jackal and peacocks among others. With a focus on big cats, the institute has been given the task to identify locations and number of wildlife animals,” said Raj Kumar Bhatia, district forest officer (wildlife) Gurgaon.

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NEWSLINK: Human History of Cats exhibition opens at Devon museum

A Devon museum is hosting a new exhibition which is bound to please fans of our feline friends.
'Claws! The Human History of Cats' has opened at Torquay Museum.

The display tells the extraordinary story of the relationship between humans and cats, from distant prehistory until the present day.


Spanning 40 million years, the exhibition features the enormous awe-inspiring skulls of extinct sabre-tooth cats and cave lions, an Egyptian cat mummy, wildcats, stories of cats throughout human history, man-eaters, dozens of fascinating cat-related artefacts, and much more.

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NEWSLINK: Lions play games, skits at Etawah safari

Four pairs of Asiatic lions at Etawah Lion Safari were made to play innovative games by a two-member team from Longleat Safari Park of the UK to build their stamina and keep them healthy.


The state government had sought expert help from Britain for better upkeep of lions at the safari after the recent death of eight big cats --three adults (a lion and two lionesses) and five cubs.

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TELEVISION: Paw-fect big cat battle

Watermelon seems an unusual treat for a big cat, but Boone Smith discovered they're a cheetah's favourite snack.


The wildlife wrangler is the face of National Geographic's sixth annual Big Cat Week.


He discovered the cheetah's sweet tooth while filming his latest documentary, Big Cat Games, for Nat Geo at Busch Gardens Theme Park in Florida.

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VIDEO: A man and his pride

Game ranger, Kevin is one of a pride.


His ranch in South Africa homes 32 rescued lions, many of which he's raised since young cubs.


Their love for him is clear to see, but Kevin needs to know how to hold his own, both in mock fighting and in affection.

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NEWSLINK: Lions on the loose in residential area after escaping from park in Kenya

A group of lions escaped from a park in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, leaving residents on edge and officials scrambling to find them.


Wildlife officials seemed to have no idea how many of the big cats sneaked out of the park Friday morning.

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VIDEO: Canadian in car surrounded by three curious cougars

A Canadian out for a bush bash in his 4-wheel-drive has had a close encounter with three big cats, which stalked around his vehicle with a boldness rarely witnessed.


British Columbia resident Adam Nash was quick to hit record when the cougars, believed to be juveniles, emerged from forestland near Courtenay on Vancouver Island.

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NEWSLINK: Poaching still a major threat to tigers

Arrests of poachers and seizures of tiger parts in the past one year have again put a spotlight on poaching in Nepal.


Twelve incidents involving arrests of around two dozen people along with tiger parts at different times from different parts of the country, particularly from the western part where dense forests serve as important tiger habitats, were reported in the past one year, according to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC).

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PHOTOS/VIDEO: Photographer captures incredible images of Africa's most elusive animals

Capturing some of Africa's most elusive animals can be a long waiting game.


But wildlife photographer Will Burrard-Lucas has managed to shoot a stunning set of images, including lions, leopards and hyenas prowling the watering holes of the Zambezi region in Namibia.


The photographs give an incredible insight into the secret life of these creatures, which could help conservationists protect them for the future.

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ART: Lions And Tigers And Leopards, Oh My! At Bruce Museum

French artist Robert Dallet loved big cats. Until the end of his life in 2006, Dallet devoted his art to documenting their grace and majesty. A new exhibit at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich focuses on Dallet's work and draws attention to the wildcat-conservation initiative bearing his name.


The show was conceived by wildcat conservation organization Panthera and Hermès, the luxury-goods retailer that uses Dallet's cats in its designs.

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ARTICLE: Mountain lions: Powerful but elusive

Mountain lion — what other predator in our neighborhood would conjure up so many images? What would frighten you more on a trail? A bear or a lion? Most people I have talked to emphatically said the mountain lion would be the bigger threat.

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ARTICLE: Leopard Cats May Have Been Domesticated Back in Ancient China

A new study by a group of French scientists have discovered catlike fossils that may prove that the wild leopard cats were domesticated more than 5,000 years ago in Ancient China. The modern cat or the Felis catus is known to have descended from the native wildcat found in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, but researchers suggest that a second type of cat acted as pets of ancient Chinese farmers.

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NEWSLINK: Zookeeper attacked by rare Sumatran tiger

Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin's widow has told how one of her zoo keepers has suffered puncture wounds and scratches after being swatted by a rare Sumatran tiger.

Terri Irwin said the tiger called Ranu had struck after getting "hot and bothered" at the family's famous Australia Zoo.

On its website, the zoo explains how its handlers have to keep in kind that 265lb Ranu is "the boss" and been patient with him.

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NEWSLINK: Monks Selling Big Cats on Thai Black Market

International scandal slammed a famous monastery on January 28 when it was exposed for abusing and trafficking endangered tigers.


A documentary film, The Tiger and the Monk, made its debut on Netflix in October 2015. It paints a vivid portrait of Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua Temple, where the wild, free-roaming big cats live at peace, side-by-side with the monks in a furry, striped Utopia.

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NEWSLINK: Minnesota Students Name Cougars at Wildcat Sanctuary

It’s always sad to hear of wild cougar kittens tragically losing their mother, but it’s happened again in the state of Washington when a female cougar was shot after killing a goat.


Left behind were two kittens spotted in a shed that authorities trapped and relocated to The Wildcat Sanctuary in Minnesota.

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ARTICLE: Curious Scientists Are Studying Cat Legs

"It's famously said that a lion is just a scaled-up house cat,” University College London researcher Anjali Goswami told The Atlantic. "That's very weird.”


Domestic or big cat, they all walk the same, with the same posture. Other animals’ legs change as they grow, giving them more support and as a result, a different posture. For cats, that’s not the case – they walk in a bit of a crouch. The Atlantic suggests this stance is "useful for stalking and pouncing [or maybe] it allows them to accelerate forwards more easily, or makes them more agile.”

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NEWSLINK: Lions Found in Ethiopia Raise Hopes of Big Cats in the Sudan

Lions found in Ethiopia recently have raised hope that the big cats have also survived nearby in the Sudan after they were thought to have been killed off there.


The Born Free Foundation website said on Monday that an expedition to a remote park in Ethiopia near the Sudan border documented the existence of lions through pictures and identifying lion tracks.

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NEWSLINK: Essex 'leopard' most likely a domestic cat

Residents of Essex are on the lookout for a wild animal after a woman in Chelmsford reported seeing a big cat in her back garden.


The worried resident wrote to the Essex Chronicle to share the close encounter with what she described as “a big wild cat, possibly a lynx or a jungle cat”.

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NEWSLINK/VIDEO: Terrified tourists forced to flee tiger enclosure on foot after truck breaks down

Horrified tourists at a popular zoo had to flee a tiger enclosure on foot after their sightseeing vehicle broke down mid-tour.


Surrounded by half a dozen big cats, the visitors feared for their lives as they became stranded in the middle of the territory and were told they would need to leave the vehicle.


Reports said 10 tourists visiting the famous Siberian tiger enclosure at the Jiufeng National Forest 
Park near Beijing began phoning their friends and family after the safari car they were travelling in broke down.

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UK PHOTOS: Playful tigers snapped building giant snowball at zoo

A photographer has captured the moment a tiger was spotted building a snowball at Dudley Zoo.


Amateur photographer Ian Thomas, 52, from Anglesey, in North Wales, perched in the snow for four hours before capturing the moment of the two big cats playing in the snow.

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