Return of the wolf to Nepal’s Himalayas may threaten snow leopards
KATHMANDU — On the slopes of the Himalayas in Nepal, a primeval scene plays out routinely, far from human eyes: a snow leopard lies in wait for its prey, its…
Sundarbans tiger and prey numbers rise amid Bangladesh conservation efforts
In a heartening turn of events, the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, which spans the southwest border of Bangladesh, is seeing promising signs of recovery for the iconic Bengal…
Nepali researchers yet again photograph snow leopard, leopard in same place
KATHMANDU — Nepali researchers have yet again photographed a snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and common leopard (P. pardus) in the same location in the lap of Mount Gaurishankar in the…
For Caatinga’s last jaguars and pumas, wind farms are the newest threat
Between March 2017 and January 2018, researchers tracked the movements of a female puma as it prowled around the Boqueirão da Onça protected area complex in the north of Brazil’s…
As Bhutan reports big boost in tigers, coexistence strategies become necessary (commentary)
On Saturday, July 29, the world celebrated International Tiger Day with good news from my home country of Bhutan, a small Himalayan kingdom sandwiched between India and China. Bhutan’s latest…
Researchers detect two of Suriname’s most powerful jaguar trafficking networks
Experts on wildlife crime in Suriname monitored and documented two of the most powerful jaguar trafficking networks in South America. The networks, called “SA1” and “SA18,” operate in Suriname and…
Nepal won’t set fresh tiger number goal, to focus on coexistence, connectivity
KATHMANDU — After nearly tripling its population of tigers in just 12 years, Nepal’s conservation authorities have decided to now focus on improving human-tiger coexistence and shoring up the big…
Critics decry Nepal minister’s ‘terrible idea’ of ‘sport hunting’ tigers
KATHMANDU — Nepal’s environment minister has suggested allowing wealthy foreigners to kill tigers for “sport,” sparking outrage from wildlife experts, conservationists and local community representatives. Birendra Mahato raised the issue…
In Sri Lanka, humans mistakenly attempt to ‘rescue’ leopard cubs
From time to time, there are media flashes about leopard cubs being rescued and some reports carry moving video footage of how well-meaning village folk, especially estate workers in the…
Tigers cross borders but struggle to move safely within Nepal, study suggests
KATHMANDU — When India announced the results of its national tiger census in April this year, it added a new habitat for the big cats: the Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar…
Lucky No. 13? Latest images could add to Nepal’s 12 wildcat species
KATHMANDU — In early February 2022, a team of tiger researchers started downloading images from camera traps as part of a population census for the big cat in Nepal. They…
Return of the lions: Large protected areas in Africa attract apex predator
Lions are returning on their own to parks in Mozambique and Chad thanks to the creation of vast landscape mosaics that include core protected areas, corridors and cooperating communities through which the big cats roam.
Bangladesh tries fences to tackle growing human-tiger conflict in Sundarbans
DHAKA — Authorities in Bangladesh have decided to install nylon net fencing in the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, to tackle human-tiger conflicts and protect both communities and the…
Lack of large prey may be feeding rise in Nepal’s human-tiger conflicts
KATHMANDU — Until a few months ago, residents of Geruwa, a rural municipality in western Nepal, used to rush to their homes before dusk and shut themselves indoors. That was…
Honey production sweetens snow leopard conservation in Kyrgyzstan
SHAMSHY, Kyrgyzstan — “I was only 9 when I first saw a snow leopard with my father. He was a ranger bringing injured animals found in the mountains to the…
Study shows Javan leopard habitat shrinking, but real picture may be worse
Across the Indonesian island of Java, suitable habitat for Javan leopards shrunk by more than 1,300 square kilometers, or 500 square miles, between 2000 and 2020. That’s according to a…
Pumas create nutrient-rich ‘kill gardens’ to attract prey: Study
Big cats are expert hunters, but some may also be adept gardeners, according to a recent study published in Springer Nature. After killing and eating, pumas (Puma concolor) leave the…
Counting dead cats on Costa Rica’s highways: Q&A with Daniela Araya Gamboa
The nature of her father’s work, as an aerial fumigation pilot, meant that Daniela Araya lived in many areas of Costa Rica when she was a child. She usually traveled…
India cheetah births spark interest in fast felines in neighboring Nepal
KATHMANDU — News of four cheetah cubs being born recently in India has sparked interest in the species in the conservation community in neighboring Nepal, where the big cat’s historical…
Do tiger-dense habitats also help save carbon stock? It’s complicated
KATHMANDU — In 2012, when wildlife biologist Kanchan Thapa visited Chitwan National Park, a stronghold of the Bengal tiger in Nepal, a colleague asked him a question: “How much carbon…
Human migration to Nepal’s tiger capital adds to conservation challenges
KATHMANDU — The B.P. Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital in Nepal’s central Bharatpur city, Chitwan District, bustles as patients, most of them from the country’s northern hilly areas, line up for…
Island-hopping cougars redraw boundaries of big cats’ potential range
It’s often been said that big cats don’t like water — but this mythological thinking isn’t entirely accurate. New research provides evidence that some male cougars (Puma concolor), or pumas,…
Video of rare West African lion cubs sparks hope for the population
New video of a West African lioness and her three cubs is exciting news for the conservation community, sparking hope for the slow recovery of a population perilously close to…
As Himalayas thaw, snow leopards scramble for habitat: Q&A with Bikram Shrestha
KATHMANDU — When researchers last year confirmed the presence of the manul, the “world’s grumpiest cat,” on the world’s highest mountain, they immediately looked at past records of the elusive…
Most of ‘top ten’ hotspots for jaguar conservation are in Brazil’s Indigenous territories
Jaguars have been feared and revered for centuries, inspiring rituals, cults, and, more recently, conservation concerns. Although jaguars’ known range extends from Mexico to Argentina, they’ve been eradicated from almost…
Himalayan catfight looms as tigers, leopards venture into snow leopard land
KATHMANDU — A tiger sits quietly surrounded by trees, observing something in the distance. It then roars and darts toward its target: a leopard that jumps down from a tree.…
For tigers in Nepal, highways are a giant roadblock best avoided
KATHMANDU — It starts off like the premise for a joke: “Why did the tigers cross the road?” But for researchers and conservationists in Nepal, the spread of roads throughout…
In Nepal, conservationists suspect link between canine distemper and human-leopard conflict
KATHMANDU — On Nov. 1 last year, a leopard dragged off an 8-year-old boy as he was playing just steps away from the cowshed where his grandmother was milking the…
With climate change, Nepal’s leopards get a bigger range — and more problems
KATHMANDU — Climate change is likely to expand the habitat of leopards in the Nepal’s high mountain regions, potentially increasing conflict with humans and competition with snow leopards, a new…
To restore large carnivore populations, make people wealthier, study finds
The decline of big carnivore populations like lions, bears and lynx is most closely associated with rapid economic growth, according to a study published this week in Nature Communications. The study…
