Category: Help a species: Big Cats Conservation

1. New Appeal from the World Land Trust: Save Tanzania’s Coastal Forests

   Posted on 9:00pm Monday 29th Mar 2021

   The World Land Trust has launched the first appeal for this year and this one is in Eastern Africa.

   The coastal forests there did cover an area larger than the UK – now, they would fit into half of Scotland.

   There are 400 forest fragments from Somalia to Mozambique and biodiversity islands that are full of endemic life.
   
   

   The Appeal Target:   £360,000

   The Trust is working to raise £360,000.   With help from these donations, their partner the  Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG)  can save a crucial wildlife corridor.   Elephants, leopards, lions and other animals are counting on us all to save this land for them.

   Roads are bringing cashew plantations closer and closer.  The animals need their wildlife corridor to be saved.
   
   

   About the Rondo Appeal

   The Rondo Plateau is a 900 metre table-top mountain.  It is a microclimate of misty forests, chameleons and bush baby primates whilst below it, big cats, butterflies and elephants roam. 

   And with all our help, the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group is going to create a huge protected belt around this ancient landscape.
   
   

   
   The donations will help safeguard a crucial wildlife corridor between the Rondo Forest Reserve and the Nyerere National Park.  49,000+acres (20,000 ha) of land will be protected.  The corridor will come in the form of 10 Village Land Forest Reserves, each under the stewardship of a village, and the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group will work with them closely.
   
   

   Which animals will the appeal help? 

   These animals are examples of those who need the Ronda route:

   • Elephants who need space to roam and who need their migration routes,
   • The African Lion and African leopard manage prey species – they must do this or animals such as the African Bush Pig would go unchecked, and devastate local farms.
   • The lions in the area need the land between the forest and shrubland to hunt or they would become extinct in the area
   • Leopards need forests so that they can store their kills up in the trees where other animals can’t get them.
   • The dwarf galago is a tiny endangered primate, who lives in trees and who needs the connectivity the Ronda land will give it.
   • The bearded pygmy chameleon is very vulnerable to habitat disruption – even the loss of a few trees could be one loss too many for some
   • The chequered elephant shrew’s population is very fragmented because of habitat loss so the subspecies is under real pressure
     
     

   We all need to act

   Please help protect these animals by protecting their homes today – and please donate to the World Land Trust’s appeal

2. Snow Leopard Trust's helpline help snow leopards in northern India

   Posted on 9:00pm Sunday 14th Mar 2021

   The Snow Leopard Trust has set up a telephone hotline service in northern India.

   It’s a line local communities can call if they need help managing problems with snow leopards.

   They’ve had a number of calls already, including an important call from a village called Gue. 

   There had been five snow leopard attacks there in one week, resulting in the loss of 76 goats.  This was a terrible blow to the community of Gue – and of course to the goats.

   The Snow Leopard Trust’s field team were able to get permission to travel to Gue, where they assessed the situation and then shipped materials so that the most vulnerable corrals could be reinforced.
   
   

   
   They returned again to predator-proof ten corrals.  

   The idea behind the corrals is that they secure livestock at night, locked away safely from predators such as snow leopards.   They also create more interest in the Trust’s conservation work and enhance tolerance of snow leopards.

   Find out more about the Snow Leopard Trust here and the work they are doing on corrals and predator protection here.

   And here are ways to get involved and help.

   The Trust is celebrating its 40^th anniversary this year.

3. Tigers need your help!

   Posted on 9:00pm Friday 26th Feb 2021

   Update:   Fantastic News!
   
   The fundraiser hit its target (it was £716 in the end) and now the tigers' solar pumps can be mended so that they, and other wildlife in the area, have water to drink.   The background story is below.

   However, it's not too late to donate to give tigers water!  Tigers4ever have another Global Giving campaign called Water For Bandhavgarh's Tigers - Reducing Conflict and they still need donations for that.  Read the background to this appeal here.
   
   

   Background Story....

   A herd of wild elephants have moved to Bandhavgarh.  And they have been very naughty and destroyed two solar pumps which power the borewell pumps at two waterhole sites.

   The tigers in the area are more than a bit miffed, and they are worried, too, because the drought season is rapidly approaching, and they need water to survive.  As do many other animals in the area.

   As a result of the elephants’ actions, the tigers need the solar pumps to be mended and of course they don’t have any money.

   Please will you help the tigers?

   It’s easy to do.  

   Tigers4ever, an amazing charity which works to give tigers a future, has a Global Giving campaign. They need to raise £803, and you can contribute to the campaign here. 

   Tigers4ever aim to do two things with this campaign:

   1. Replace the broken solar panels so that water under the ground can be pumped to the surface again – then the animals will have a source of water and won’t need to go into villages looking for water.
      
      
   2. Put up fencing around the solar pump that’s elephant proof so that the solar pumps will be protected.   They are looking at using chilli fences and beehive fences to deter the elephants but these will need to be funded.

   Anyway, the tigers and the other animals in the area would really appreciate your help.  They want and need access to water to survive and thrive.  Please help them and contribute towards giving them water.

   Please donate to help the tigers' ongoing water appeal here

4. Dogs help cats and sheep and herders and habitats - all at once!

   Posted on 9:00pm Thursday 11th Feb 2021

   WCS Argentina has a new initiative!  And it involves dogs, sheep and pumas.

   WCS is working to reduce conflict between herders and the wild carnivores who stalk their sheep flocks. 

   The dogs are a mix of Anatolian shepherd and Great Pyrenees.   They watch over the domestic goats and sheep herds, protecting them from pumas, foxes, condors and other predators.
   
   

   And because the dogs are protecting their flocks, the herds have stopped resorting to shooting, poisoning or trapping wildlife.  And there are a couple of wins here:

   • Wild carnivores have a better future – many are endangered, such as the Andean cat
   • Herds don’t need so many animals in a herd – and that means there’s less overgrazing and desertification is reduced.

   Find out more from WCS Argentina

    

5. International Cheetah Day 2020 is on 4th December

   Posted on 1:00am Friday 4th Dec 2020

   The 4th December is International Cheetah Day. Cheetahs are most numerous in the wild in Namibia.  Currently there are about 7,100 to 7,500 cheetahs in the wild.  They are the world’s fastest land animal, capable of doing speeds from 0 to 60mph in 3 seconds, which is an incredible feat.   They can go up to 70 mph! They use their tails to steer and change direction when they are running, a bit like a rudder on a boat. This year, the Cheetah Conservation Fund celebrates its 30th Anniversary.   It has been working to protect and build healthier ecosystems for cheetahs so that they can survive and thrive in the wild. For the cheetahs face problems: Habitat loss Human-wildlife conflict The illegal wildlife/pet trade   Support the Cheetah Conservation Fund's project  to feed orphan cheetahs in Namibia via Global Giving 9 Ways to Help Cheetahs Support the Cheetah Conservation Fund!  There are a number of ways you can do this: As always spread the word on Social Media about International Cheetah Day, cheetahs, the threats facing them and the Cheetah Conservation Fund.  There are social media materials here. Join the Twitter storm for cheetahs! Donate!  There’s a match fund until 31 December up to the tune of $275,000.    If you donate, you can also choose a gift with your donation while supplies last.  Sponsor a cheetah being cared for at the Cheetah Conservation Fund’s headquarters – the most difficult bit will be choosing which cheetah to sponsor!  They came in as orphaned cubs, or were being kept as pets, or were injured and came to the centre for help. Teachers and students can help spread the word and discover lots about cheetahs  - there are resources here Buy a book on cheetahs Buy a cheetah themed item of clothing such as a t-shirt or hoodie from Bonfire.com Shop at Etsy.com   and a proportion of the sale supports cheetahs and the Cheetah Conservation Fund. Take a look at the charity’s wish list – they need some veterinary supplies too – and see what you can do to provide them. Visit the Cheetah Conservation Fund's website here