Friday 31 August 2018

PHOTO: Mountain lion sneaks into home, kills cat — and doesn’t want to leave, Colorado cops say

It wasn’t hard for the mountain lion to sneak into this Colorado home, police said.


All the wild animal had to do was get through a screen door on Thursday night at the residence in Boulder, according to police. Once inside, the mountain lion didn’t harm any humans — but it did kill the family’s house cat.

Police said a resident discovered the mountain lion inside upon returning home, the Associated Press reports.

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PHOTOS: Rescued circus lions take their first steps on grass

Five lions and nine tigers from two different circuses have been rescued from their bare board cages and have taken their first steps on grass.

For the whole of their circus lives, the circus animals had only ventured out of their bare board cages to perform tricks under the big top. That was to change forever when Guatemala’s ban on animal circus acts came into force, and Animal Defenders International (ADI) embarked on a mission to enforce the law.

ADI’s first task was to set up a temporary rescue centre from scratch, where animals removed from the circuses could be cared for until relocation to their forever homes. ADI then negotiated the handover of the animals: three lions from one circus, two lions and nine tigers from another.

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NEWSLINK: Panther reports pour in from across New England and North West

Dozens of people have come forward with their encounters with the long-time local legend of a panther lurking in the bush land around the New England and North West.

On Sunday, a big cat research put the call out for panther sightings in the region, and The Leader has been inundated with stories.

Read more... 

NEWSLINK: Controversy rages over reported mountain lion sightings in northern York County

In today’s world, social media can spark discussions, skepticism and all-out controversy.


After sharing a friend’s Facebook post about a potential mountain lion (also referred to as cougar or puma) sighting in central Pennsylvania, Stacey Griffiths' personal page was flooded with so many interactions, she started the Central PA Mountain Lion Sighting page.


After a few posts, Stacey found that there were plenty of people who shared her desire to find out what has been prowling around area woods. But there were others chalking up her efforts as an attention grab and a hoax.

Read more... 

NEWSLINK: Madhya Pradesh tigress released in Odisa's Satkoshia

After keeping in enclosure for more than 40 days, translocated Bandhavgarh tigress Sundari was released in Satkoshia Tiger Reserve by the authorities there. 

Madhya Pradesh government was in a fix over further translocation of the tigress as a wildlife activist had shot a complaint to National Tiger Conservation Authority(NTCA) accusing Odisha forest officials of subjecting Sundari to undue hardships by keeping her in an enclosure for over a month.

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VIDEO: Two sets of endangered animals born at Carson Springs Wildlife Conservation Foundation

It's been a busy but exciting year at the Carson Springs Wildlife Conservation Foundation where this summer two highly endangered big cats had their first litters.
Here's an up close and personal look at the three new cheetah cubs and clouded leopard now calling North Central Florida home.


On June 6th the owners of the Carson Springs Wildlife facility got the good news they'd been working towards for 7 years, their female cheetah had delivered 3 healthy cubs.


Barry Janks, a co-founder of Carson Springs Wildlife Conservation Foundation explained why this successful birth is so exciting. "Cheetahs are the number one hardest animal to breed in captivity I think there were 192 born in captivity in the entire world in 2016 and 138 survived.

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ARTICLE: Are Cities Making Animals Smarter?

The goldfish were the first to vanish. Every so often, a few would go missing overnight from the office’s tiny outdoor pond. But goldfish were cheap, so no one in the building—an environmental nonprofit in the bustling, sweaty center of Colombo, Sri Lanka—bothered investigating.

Then the dragon koi began to disappear. Lustrous and ethereal, each of these whiskered Japanese carp cost around 10,000 Sri Lankan rupees, or $65. In a fit of extravagance, the building’s landlord had bought 10. Soon, he had seven. Then three.

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SIGHTING? UK: 'I drove alongside a puma in Tatenhill'

A wildlife enthusiast who has travelled across the globe to see animals has claimed he drove alongside a "puma" in Tatenhill.

Steve Morgan has just revealed details of the incident, following Burton Live's story that a man spotted a big cat near Queen's Hospital on August 7.

Steve said the incident happened in February 2017 when he was driving back to his Burton home from a fishing trip at around 1am in the morning.

He was travelling along Main Street in the village when he spotted a large black cat walking on the pavement in front of him.

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PHOTO: Trail camera captures perfectly timed photo of a leopard on the hunt

As Leopard Program Director for global wild cat conservation organisation Panthera, Dr. Guy Balme has seen his fair share of camera-trap images. But this recent snap of a leopard’s daytime hunt in South Africa’s Londolozi Private Game Reserve is something special.

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SIGHTING? UK: ‘Huge beast Puma’ spotted in Sheffield village

A walker has described spotting a ‘puma’ in a Sheffield village over the weekend. Details of the sighting – which happened at the junction of Long Lane and New Hall Lane in Bolsterstone yesterday afternoon – were posted onto the Sheffield Forum website.

The eye witness said they spotted “what I can only describe as a puma.” They added: “I know that the chance of seeing such an animal in the wild, especially around these parts, are practically nil.

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NEWSLINK: Leopard's body found at Brahmpuri Colony

Body of a 10-year-old leopard was found at Brahmpuri Colony in northern Mayapuri beat of Haridwar forest division on Thursday afternoon. On receiving the information, a forest department team reached the spot and took the leopard's body in custody. The exact reason for the death of the leopard is not yet known. However, it is suspected that the big cat was killed during infighting.

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Saturday 25 August 2018

CARL WRITES: Examination of BetaFlight YouTube video

An Examination of the BetaFlight 3.0.0 Drone 'Big Cat' Youtube Video.

Initial reactions

I must admit, the first time I watched this Youtube video www.youtube.com/watch?v=lklmUuSPDtw&t=161s, the animal captured at 2:07 looked, in my opinion, to be quite large and robust, suggesting that the first genuine big cat had been filmed in Britain from a drone's on-board camera. The drone is travelling at high speed, and a cursory look at the surrounding area, such as the wrapped hay bales in the field to the right of the animal; and what appears to be tractor tyre marks in the ploughed soil, seemed indicative of a black leopard wild in Britain. However, I felt even though the footage is persuasive, a more analytical approach would be required before we were to claim, to any level of certainty, what this animal in the video actually was. What I needed was a nearby object that could help indicate the approximate dimensions of the creature captured in the video.    
Just testing the new bf3 release and all is great so far cant complain! Then out of no where a large black animal comes into view..... Lumenier QAV210 frame...



Taking a Closer Look

Unfortunately, as Oscar Wilde once said, "The truth is rarely pure and never simple", as annoyingly, I would not be able to find a clear shot of the mystery animal (clearly a felid), close enough to a comparable object to deduce its proportions. I would need to look elsewhere in the video for a solution.

So, what else was there? The crop had been recently harvested (hence the bales), so couldn't use the growth-rate of the crop. There was the ditch to the right of the catbut unfortunately, there was very little to indicate its width; however, this ditch, located so close to the cat, would later be of particularly importance. The third time I watched the video, I noticed at 2:35 there was another ditch located at the opposite side of the field, and this one had a recognisable object adjacent to it (a white car possibly a BMW). What I needed now was an aerial view of the ditches to show they are both approximately the same width. Again, unfortunately this wasn't to be, but I did find that between 2:17 and 2:23, the drone rushes between these two locations without significantly altering its altitude, and we can clearly see both ditches located either side of the property. These ditches, acting as a dividing moat between fields, are uniform in their dimensions, as would be expected.

Although not perfect, if we utilise the approximate dimensions of the white car to indicate the overall width of the ditch, we can use this to guesstimate the size of the cat.

As mentioned previously, there are what appear to be tractor tread marks in the ploughed soil located to the left of the cat, and if the general assumption is made that these tracks were produced by a commercial sized tractor, then the cat in the video might seem large enough to be a black leopard. However, at 1:55, we get a valuable, high angle view of the whole area, and it can be clearly seen that the visible fields are very long relative to their width (in fact, I wonder if this was filmed in Lincolnshire, famous for its flat, narrow fields) which would imply the use of a compact tractor with a narrower wheel span, therefore producing smaller tracks.

The field bales located to the right of the cat might be commercial sized bales. However, they are not positioned in the centre of the field, and are much closer to the cat than initially expected. This can be clearly seen if one follows the combine tracks up the field towards the lampposts and trees in the distance (2:08). The distance of the bales from the cat; the changing angle of the camera in relation to the cat, and the unknown altitude of the drone all produce unsatisfactory reference points.

From 2:16 to 2:23 we can see that the two ditches located either side of the property are approximately the same dimensions. Therefore, if we mentally superimpose the white car into the ditch located parallel to the cat, suddenly the animal appears significantly smaller. At 1:39, we get an aerial view of the white car parked next to the second ditch. During this section of the video, we can see that the total width of the ditch, at ground level, is approximately the total length of the car - approximately 4,800 mm or 480cm. In the trough of the ditch where we see the shallow drainage water, we can deduce that this area is approximately half the width of the white car - about 900mm or 90cm. 

If we now go to 1:57, we can clearly see that the total length of the cat is approximately half the width of the trough, which is about 450mm or 45cm. With a little imagination, we can now mentally superimpose the white car into the ditch located next to the animal, suggesting the animal in the video is approximately the dimensions of a domestic cat.  

At 2:29, we get a long distance view of the white car parked up by the entrance to the property. In this shot we can compare the white car to the adjacent avenue of trees proving there is nothing diminutive about these, and then if we go on to 2:33 through to 2:45, and keep in mind the height of the trees using the previous reference of the white car, the cat that comes into shot at 2:40, is clearly far too small to be an adult leopard. If this mystery cat was a leopard it would have to, at best, be a cub. 

The most plausible identity however would be a black domestic cat Felis catus.         

BetaFlight 3.0.0 technical details.

Lumenier QAV210 frame.
TBS - PowerCube BetaFlight 3.0.0.
TBS - Unify 5.8.
TBS - Triumphs.
Emax 2300kv series 2 cooling edition.
RC Hobby - 5x45 Tri-Props. 
GoPro Hero Session 4 1080 60fps.
GoPro Studio. 

Conclusions

Although by no means conclusive, this elementary analysis seems to suggest that the cat filmed from the BetaFlight 3.0.0's on board GoPro camera, was probably a black domestic cat F. catus. During a recent conversation with Olivia McCarthy of the CFZ Mystery Cats Study Group, I was informed this model of drone is not known to travel at low speeds smoothly, that the batteries do not last very long, and that it would be difficult for the pilot to follow the cat at a steady speed for an optimal recording. Also, the panoramic nature of the drone's on-board GoPro camera, and the velocity of the drone itself, produce less than perfect results.  

A deliberate hoax seems unlikely, an honest misidentification on the part of the pilot is far more plausible.

Even though on this occasion it seems unlikely this animal is anything more than a black domestic cat, it is entirely possible that in the near future, a similar drone will eventually capture a clear video of a genuine British big cat.

Tuesday 21 August 2018

BetaFlight 3.0.0 Testing + Big Cat Sighting



Filmed two years ago in NW Lancashire between Preston and Southport

Sunday 19 August 2018

NEWSLINK: Forest Department bans picnic in Mendora jungles to keep big cats safe

Madhya Pradesh Forest Department has banned picnics in Mendora and nearby jungles areas to ensure safety of a tigress and two cubs. The department said higher numbers of people are arriving to the jungle areas for celebration during monsoon.

Forest officials said large number of tourists and local people are arriving at Mendora, Kerwa, Kaliyasot and nearby jungle areas to enjoy the day in monsoon. Taking advantage of the crowd, poachers are also becoming active in the area.

Read more...

PHOTO: Very large bobcat spotted in Wilton yard

Wilton resident Justin Anderson captured footage of a bobcat wandering through the yard of his Old Highway home in the early morning hours of July 25.


After losing three chickens, Anderson said, he set up a Havahart live animal trap and installed the camera to monitor it on Sunday, July 21.


Since then, Anderson said, he’s seen “dozens” of raccoons and fox, but was not expecting a bobcat.


“When I first saw the video I thought, ‘Wow, that’s big — maybe it’s a mountain lion,’” Anderson told The Bulletin.

Read more...

Tuesday 14 August 2018

SIGHTING? UK: Ex-detective left baffled by sighting of mystery wildcat in Hawick

A former detective believes there is a wildcat on the loose in Hawick after coming face to face with a creature he reckons might have been a lynx in his back garden. Andy Suddon, of Longhope Drive, Hawick, spotted the mystery animal through his kitchen window on Monday night. Andy Suddon. 

“I was in the kitchen with the light off, and I saw a dark animal in an open bit between trees,” he said. “I saw this movement and at first I thought it might be a young badger, but then I saw it didn’t have any white on it. “I thought it could be a cat, but it was too big for a domestic cat. It just stood there looking at me.”

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PHOTOS: Peru zoo unveils Mexico-born white lion cubs

Two endangered white lion cubs born in captivity in Mexico were unveiled at a zoo in the Peruvian capital Lima Thursday.

The little big cats – one female aged four months and a five-month-old male – are on display at the city’s Huachipa Zoo, in central Lima, having completed a quarantine period.

Read more... 

Saturday 11 August 2018

CARL WRITES: 18/7/18 - Hawick, Roxburghshire

"Ex Detective Left Baffled by Sighting of Mystery Wildcat in Hawick." (The Southern Reporter, 18 July 2018) 

As an ex police chief inspector, Andy Suddon is likely to be a reliable observer, at least in terms of his integrity. However, we know next to nothing of his skill in biological identification, especially at night with limited visibility. There are previous reports of big cats stalking the Southern Uplands that might corroborate Mr. Suddon's claim, such as sightings in and around Hawick itself, of what were reported at the time to be large black cats; including observations made on the Hawick to Jedburgh road. Three years ago, a report was made of a panther-like cat being observed by a dog walker on Gala Hill in Galashiels, and in 2001, the British Big Cat Society considered sending a representative with a motion sensitive camera to Hawick after a spate of sightings there. 

A three ft long Leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) was shot and killed near Jedburgh by Gamekeeper, Willi Thomas, in February 1988, and a second one was killed in neighbouring Berwickshire in 1989, proving none indigenous felids, at least were once living wild in the region. The origin of the Berwickshire leopard cat remains unknown. 

Of course it is entirely possible that Mr Suddon witnessed a bonafide 'big cat', maybe an escapee from a private collection, or even the first or second generation offspring of escaped or released animals. Although Mr Suddon's property is located on the outskirts of a populated Scottish town, it backs onto expansive areas of wilderness such as Hawick moor and nearby Kielder forest. I personally believe that the continuation of the British big cat phenomenon is not entirely sustained by natural procreation. Even though some breeding has obviously taken place, resulting in observations of cubs alongside an adult, as a whole, the British populations are the result of continuing escapees and illegal releases, and numbers are far lower than most researchers suggest. In the National Parks of Kenya there is approximately one leopard every 10 square kilometres, whereas in the UK, I would expect it to be more like one every 500 square kilometres.      

Enter Felicity.

Scotland is the only British country that can actually claim the verified capture of a wild puma, after a Cannich farmer named Ted Noble, captured a live puma (Puma concolor) in a bated trap on his land in 1980, following an eight month hunt during which he lost many sheep and foals. The puma, which was later named Felicity, was presented to the Highlands Wildlife Park near Kingussie, where she stayed until her death on 30th January 1985. Felicity's remains were stuffed and mounted and now resides in the Inverness Municipal Museum. There is some controversy as to how long Felicity was living "wild" for. 

A Very Credible Scottish Case.  

On the night of June 16th 2001, while driving home from Dundee to Cupar (north-east Fife), journalist Ralph Barnett, while rounding a bend and coming out of a slight dip in the road, put on the full beams of his headlamps, illuminating what he reported to police to be a big dark-coloured cat, which promptly leapt away leaving behind a bloodied roe deer carcass (Capreolus capreolus). 

The remains showed very distinctive circular shaped lacerations on the neck, clotted blood on the face, and a protruding tongue; implying asphyxiation. The entire carcass was split open along its ventral surface, and its left hind limb was defleshed right down to the bones. Barnett reported that moist blood, disturbed earth, and tufts of deer hair were present at the roadside. The big cat (if that's what it was) obviously was dragging the carcass across the road when Barnett rounded the corner frightening the predator away.

My opinion is that the extensive trauma present on this carcass provides strong evidence for a big cat kill, suggesting that these top predators continue to stalk the Scottish wilderness, though in very low numbers.

Back to Hawick..
     
Given that Scotland appears to be suitable both for big cats to remain hidden, and to provide the resources necessary for their sustained survival, it is conceivable that a normally highly secretive, young 'panther', most likely a black leopard (Panthera pardus) might have wandered too close to a populated area after a night of unsuccessful hunting; or dehydrated and looking for water in the recent hot weather, and was observed by Mr Suddon from his kitchen windoas it prowled the borders of his property. 

However, the 20in (50.8cm) body reported is very small for a leopard and would have to be a cub if anything!

Mr Suddon's observation was made in the evening (Monday 16th July) in low light conditions, and some of the features described could potentially be those of a half grown fox cub or even a malnourished vixen, such as the described long legs, long tail, and "sharper" facial features. In low light, a fox might seem darker in colour than it really is (especially if dark furred and silhouetted against the moonlight) and might honestly be mistaken for a young black leopard.  

"Andy, 78, was within 7ft of the creature, and he says it looked to be about half again as large as a domestic cat" - About the size of an average fox!

"... it had what I would describe as a sharper face than a cat" - Could this also be describing the long, sharply defined muzzle of a fox?

"It was sleeker than a domestic cat tends to be, about 20in long, and its legs and tail were longer."  - Sleeker in proportion, approximately 20in (50.8 cm) in length, with longer legs and tail - Again, these descriptions could all potentially be of a fox. A half grown fox cub or an emaciated vixen that had recently birthed a litter, especially if she alone had to find enough food to sustain both herself and her cubs due to the absence of a male, for whatever reason, would have a relatively thin furred tail (and generally look slender and more cat-like in the absence of this otherwise typical featureuntil winter approaches. 

A fox is definitely within the size range of a "young lynx" - the animal compared to this mystery animal by Mr Suddon himself. As far as I am aware, the bobcat is the only member of the Lynx genus to produce extremely rare mechanistic specimens

Black Foxes?

Melanistic foxes do exist in Britain (I possess hairs and a tissue sample taken from a black fox killed near Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire (see my article The Sad Tale of the Black Fox - CFZ blog, March 30, 2012). DNA analysed by Helen McRobie, a lecturer in biomedical sciences at the Life Sciences Department at the Anglia Ruskin University, proved it to be a silver/red fox (Vulpes vulpes) raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoidesinter-genetic hybrid, probably bred by fur farmers to produce foxes with a thicker pelage. However, naturally occurring black foxes are almost as rare as the mystery big cats themselves. In most reports of black foxes, the animals are usually going through a phase where the colour of its fur is particularly dark. This phenomenon is usually seen in growing cubs and generally the fox will develop to have a dark chestnut coat, but a few red foxes will remain black due to one or two rare genetic mutations dating back centuries. As mentioned, only a handful of natural melanistic foxes are thought to exist in Britain, although siblings might share the same genetic makeup for this mutation. 

Conclusions

There are almost certainly some big cats stalking the Scottish countryside and other rural areas of Britain, however, personally, think Mr Suddon either saw lean, dark coloured fox, or very large domestic cat. Mr Suddon claims to have good vision, been teetotal for 20 years, and says he was within seven feet of the creature for about a minute, which all suggests he may have witnessed something unusual. I have come across many 'big cat' reports that seem to describe extremely large domestic cats and a few of these giant domestics have been recorded on video.   


Two Big Cats 'Spotted on the Loose in Gloucestershire'. (GloucestershireLive, 28 July 2018) 

British big cat researcher, Frank Tunbridge received reports of what maybe two big cats roaming Gloucestershire late last month (July 2018). One was seen off France Lynch, near Stroud, at 8:30 am, and the other near Church Lane in Barnwood at 11:15 pm. Mr Tunbridge has quite accurately suggested these animals may have been forced to venture into populated areas because their usual water sources have dried up in the recent hot weather.

Mr Tunbridge believes the animals witnessed were leopard (P. pardus) X puma (Puma concolor) intergeneric hybrids. Unfortunately there are no photographs of the animals in question. 

The France Lynch sighting.

A resident from France Lynch, Stroud, contacted Mr Tunbridge, rather ambiguously claiming "She was going out to her garage when she saw a water leak from a pipe, which had created a puddle... [She] saw the rear end of the cat, by this puddle. It was ginger, foxy colour... The tail is nearly as long as the rest of the animal. It has a hook at the end". 

Shortly after the sighting, the residents friend saw what appears to be the same animal on allotments and similarly described it.  

This creature was claimed to be approximately the size of small Labrador dog and therefore still within the expected size range and colouration of a large fox, and, as mentioned previously in the Scottish report, both half grown cubs and emaciated vixens still have noticeably thinly furred tails until the winter months. This feature might not be expected during a brief encounter and mislead the observer into believing they have just witnessed a large fawn coloured cat, especially if the forelimbs and head were not clearly observed.   

It is extremely difficult to believe that this animal, which was apparently observed at close range, in, or near an enclosed environment, could have been any big cat species, hybridised or otherwise.

The Church Lane Sighting.

The second report provided to Mr Tunbridge was of a black animal with a "round puma-like head" and "shiny coat" observed from a house window approximately 40 yards away. The eyewitness first observed a fox in the same area, quite distinct from the alleged cat. The mystery animal reacted to the presence of the fox which in turn frightened the fox away. 

This alleged big cat was observed (albeit imperfectly) for about an hour before disappearing into the night. The eyewitness then tried to safely get a better look as the animal moved away, which activated his security light, illuminating the creature further, allowing for adequate viewing conditions.

Mr Tunbridge said "A man was looking out of his house window, and he saw a big black animal on its haunches 40 yards away." 

"It was watching another house intently... What they do sometimes is kill a domestic cat in times of need. It may have been going to do that."

"After about an hour, the cat disappeared out of sight and the man walked outside to get a better look."

In my view, the Church Lane report may potentially be of a genuine black leopard, possibly a sub-adult.

The creature was described as slightly smaller than a Labradoodle, muscular, with long legs and an "extremely long tail". Mr. Tunbridge believes the animal went to the area because of its pond. 

"The cats are moving around to find water sources in this heat", Mr Tunbridge said.

In theory, the alleged cat's prey are also having the same problem finding enough water, so they are travelling around too, with the alleged felids potentially following them.

"Usually, sightings dry up in June and July, but not this year, because there is less water."

Mr. Tunbridge revealed four more big cat reports described to him so far in 2018.

Conclusions.

I feel that out of the three main observations reported in the above article, the most likely to actually describe a feral black leopard, would be the Church Lane sighting reported to Mr Tunbridge. Even though there is strong evidence for the continued existence of large predatory felids in Scotland, I believe its more likely Mr Suddon (despite his professional credibility) either observed a dark coloured fox, (maybe even something almost as rare as the British big cats themselves, a melanistic fox (V. vulpes)), or a massive domestic cat (Felis catus). 

Of the two Gloucestershire reports, one, the France Lynch sighting, as far too ambiguous to provide any further details and is therefore invalid. 


The Church Lane sighting is, in my view, the most likely to have genuine cryptozoological connotations.

Thursday 9 August 2018

ARTICLE: Five times the Beast of Exmoor was spotted in Devon

It's one of the most popular and controversial myths in Devon folklore - the legend of the Beast of Exmoor.

This large, dark cat - fabled to roam the rugged countryside of Exmoor - has allegedly been spotted numerous times.

Most eye-witness accounts seem to describe the same thing, a black or dark-coated creature with a long tail, far too big to be a domestic cat.

In fact, just last month we reported how David Gliddon, 72, from Williton in West Somerset, watched in awe as a large feline creature leapt onto a wall in front of him while he was driving between Trentishoe and Heddon's Mouth on Exmoor.

Read more...

NEWSLINK: Settlements push into forests: 11 straying leopards killed in 5 yrs

As many as 11 common leopards have died in human-wildlife conflict in Kathmandu Valley in the past five years.

The number of leopard deaths was compiled from cases reported by the District Forest Offices of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur since 2013.

An ongoing study, conducted by the Friends of Nature (FON) on human-leopard conflict in the Valley, shows that these leopards were killed as they entered human settlements from nearby forests.

Read more...

Sunday 5 August 2018

SIGHTING? UK: Two big cats ‘spotted on the loose in Gloucestershire’

Two big cats were reportedly spotted roaming Gloucestershire on Tuesday.
Big cat expert Frank Tunbridge received reports one was seen in France Lynch, near Stroud, at 8.30am, and another off Church Lane in Barnwood at 11.15pm.

Mr Tunbridge, who has been tracking big cats for 40 years, believes they have been forced to venture into the open because their usual water sources have dried up in the hot weather. There are no images of the spottings.


The 71-year-old, who runs Dursley Car Boot Sale, thinks the animals seen on Tuesday could be leopard and puma hybrids.

Read more...

NEWSLINK: India’s new vanguard of tiger conservationists who are fighting for the big cat in unique ways

The year 2010 was the Year of the Tiger, and no, we are not just going by the Chinese calendar. That year, the number 1,411 popped up everywhere and on everything from bumper stickers to bus board hoardings and even promotional text messages. In case you were wondering what the number was, it was the number of tigers left in India according to a report released by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in 2006.

In 2010 however, the actual number stood at 1,706, and a mere four years later at 2,226. The steady rise in numbers can be attributed to several awareness/fundraising campaigns that were launched, urging all those to join the Save The Tiger campaign, in whatever way they could.
Read more... 

Thursday 2 August 2018

International Tiger Day: What lies ahead for the big cat in the wild, wild world

He is two months old. He is hungry. Scared. He is wondering when his mother is coming back.

Gunshot echoes.

Maybe she is not.

And then, an ominous message that flashes across the TV screen, "Just 1411 left".


Back in 2010, the distressed furry little face of Stripey, the tiger cub in Aircel's famous ad campaign "Save Our Tigers" brought the entire nation together.


Eight years on, that crisis seems to have been averted. The concentrated efforts of independent activists, government policies, amendments to the Wild Life Protection Act, and rising awareness have helped push the number of the wild cats to 2,226 in 2014, when the last tiger census was held.

Read more...