Felidae Conservation Fund

10/23/2026

Happy International Snow Leopard Day!
Stealthy paws, smoky-gray coats, and a tail almost as long as their body, snow leopards are truly one of a kind! They’re called the ghosts of the mountains and they live in Central Asia, which has some of the world's most rugged landscapes. They're super agile and camouflage extremely well with their rocky surroundings.

Unfortunately, they’re threatened by habitat loss, poaching, and human-wildlife conflict. Felidae studies snow leopards as part of our Bhutan Wild Cat Health Project. Through wildlife monitoring, research, and community engagement, we work to better understand these incredible animals and support the conservation efforts that help them thrive. Every cat matters, from the mountains of Central Asia to the wild spaces in our own backyard!

🔗 Learn more about our work with these incredible cats: https://felidaefund.org/learn/media/bhutan-wild-cat-health-project

10/23/2026

Oct 23 is International Snow Leopard Day! These big cats measure about 5 ft long (+ 3ft tail!) and can bring down prey double their size. There's much to learn about snow leopards as much about their ecology remains unknown. Snow leopards are one of the focal species of our Bhutan Wild Cat Health Project. Using camera traps and f***l surveys, we're researching how their activity and health are affected by the presence of free-roaming domestic dogs. These data will add to our knowledge of this elusive cat.
Learn more:
https://felidaefund.org/projects/research/bhutan-wild-cat-health-project

10/22/2026

Ongoing urban expansion can fragment wildlife habitat, isolating wildlife populations. Roads act as barriers to movement, preventing genetic exchange, which is bad for wildlife population health. By identifying barriers and tracking genetic exchange, we can evaluate how these wildlife crossing structures, meant to facilitate connectivity, can help populations thrive.

Learn about how conservation detection dogs can help us collect data about wildlife connectivity https://wildlandsnetwork.org/stories/sniffing-for-solutions/

10/21/2026

Meet Otis! We first saw him in 2022 as he padded into frame on our camera trap footage.
By collecting data about pumas around Point Reyes, Marin County, and the broader Bay Area through spatial tracking, modeling, and lab analyses of biological samples (aka s**t and fur), we're building one of California’s most detailed databases about wild felid health. This helps us better understand and support lions like Otis as they face growing challenges to their survival.

Read more about Otis in a new article by PRNSA! https://ptreyes.org/news/otis/

If you’ve seen a puma or bobcat, add your observation to our sightings map, which helps us monitor puma activity beyond our camera trap network.
https://bapp.org/meet-puma/sightings

10/20/2026

A reminder that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is accepting comments re: the California Bobcat Conservation and Management plan until Nov 1st. The plan will decide if hunting and trapping for bobcats should be permitted, following a 6 yr hunting moratorium.

To add your voice: Email [email protected] and [email protected] (Subject: Public Comment: Draft California Bobcat Conservation Plan) before Nov 1.

Learn more: https://plumassun.org/2026/10/07/cdfw-seeks-public-comment-on-bobcat-conservation-plan/

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announces it is now accepting public comments on the just-released draft California bobcat conservation and

10/16/2026

Meet Otis the mountain lion! 🐾

Researchers at the Bay Area Puma Project (BAPP) first laid eyes on Otis in 2022 as he padded into frame on black-and-white camera footage playing on their computer screens. The video was recorded on one of the many motion-sensing cameras (aka “camera traps”) placed around Point Reyes and Marin County to track pumas’ movement patterns and behaviors—there are multiple camera traps collecting data in forested habitats.

By collecting data points about lions around Point Reyes, Marin County, and the broader Bay Area through spatial tracking, modeling, and lab analyses of biological samples (aka s**t and fur), BAPP is developing one of California’s most detailed databases about wild felid health. This information allows researchers to better understand and support lions like Otis as they face growing challenges to their survival.

Read more about Otis, DJ the scent-detection dog, the jaguars that once inhabited the Bay Area, and more: ptreyes.org/news/otis/

If you’ve seen a puma or bobcat, add your observation to Bay Area Puma Project’s map, which supports researchers in evaluating potential problem areas and movement barriers for wildlife: bapp.org/meet-puma/sightings

📽️ Videos courtesy of Bay Area Puma Project



Video Description: Black-and-white night vision trail camera footage of a mountain lion, with a timestamp, date, and temperature data at the bottom. On screen text describes Otis the mountain lion, how long researchers have been monitoring him, his appearance, range, and a call to action to read an article with more information.

10/16/2026

Today is National Feral Cat Day!
As habitat fragmentation intensifies, people, domestic animals, and wild cats (e.g. pumas and bobcats) increasingly share the same space.
Vaccinating stray and feral cats and supporting spay/neuter programs are important for coexistence and can help prevent the spread of viruses like rabies to wild felids while protecting ecosystems.

10/15/2026

In Orange County, Ortega Highway has become a hotspot for puma mortality from vehicle collisions, which kill 6 out of 7 pumas. Because roads restrict puma movement, this isolates individuals and can lead to inbreeding and decreased reproduction, both of which negatively affect puma populations in California.

Learn more https://voiceofoc.org/2026/08/from-backcountry-to-museums-oc-mountain-lions-at-the-brink-of-extinction/

10/14/2026

The rusty-spotted cat is the world's smallest wild cat & it's found in India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. This small cat weighs just a few pounds and is very elusive, making it difficult to study, so very little is known about its ecology. Rusty-spotted cats are classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN as they’re threatened by poaching and habitat loss from the expansion of agriculture.
https://indiandefencereview.com/meet-the-worlds-smallest-wild-cat/

In the neighboring country of Bhutan, Felidae's Bhutan Wild Cat Project studies the wild cats facing similar conservation challenges as the rusty-spotted cat:
https://felidaefund.org/projects/research/bhutan-wild-cat-health-project

This tiny cat weighs barely three pounds, yet much about its secretive life in the wild remains unknown.

10/13/2026

How do local attitudes towards coexistence inform wildlife management preferences? A survey of Texas residents and livestock producers sought to explore what drives willingness to coexist with pumas- is it trust in officials? Perceived risk? Some perception of mutualism? Turns out mutualists (people who saw wildlife as deserving protection) and domination-focused respondents (those who favored human control over wildlife) were most willing to coexist. Also, they were more likely to favor non-lethal and less aggressive management strategies.

Read more: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320726002697